The Power of Three - A Lover's DayNight
by Francoist
Summary: Philippe, Selena, Karlia and Leo are all back in this thrilling 3rd book in the Power of Three series! SEQUEL TO: The Power of Three - The Darklighter.
1. Chapter 1: New Source?

_Hey Guys,_

 _Welcome to the first chapter of the latest book in my power of three series – A Lover's Day/Night. All your favourite characters are back including Philippe, Leo, Selena and Karlia and there are more to come also!_

 _Unlike my other books in the series this one will have chapters with decent sized length so enjoy!_

 _I don't know how long this one will go for it could be 10 chapters it could be more, it could be less it all really depends but as this is a book I am writing during my time off from the other series I am writing I'll warn you now that it will probably be about 10 or take two months of uploads to complete as I will then be getting back to my Fighting for no Reward series._

 _If you haven't read the other two (The Power of Three's (1) A Destiny for Something Special and (2) The Darklighter) I suggest you do so first as they cover everything up until this stage. Both are very short reads and shouldn't take very long to get through at all._

 _Ok time to begin then. Welcome everyone to chapter one._

 **The Power of Three – A Lover's Day/Night.**

 **CHAPTER ONE – New Source?**

Philippe awoke smiling. He had just experienced what he felt was without a doubt the best dream he had ever had.

 _In the dream he had travelled to all these different exotic places with Leo, starting with New York and ending in a coffee shop in Paris that Leo had taken him to once before. There, over some beautifully made latté's Leo had asked Philippe out and Philippe had quite easily accepted. The dream culminated in the most perfect kiss Philippe had ever experienced, though shortly after an alarm could be heard throughout the café._

Of course this was simply Philippe's alarm clock, which he normally cursed at every morning. But this morning nothing was going to dampen his spirits.

Philippe got up out of bed and put on his dressing gown before heading down stairs where he found Selena pouring a cup of coffee. Though this was not an odd thing for Selena to do, especially when she knew that she would get nothing but a grunt out of Philippe until he'd had some, what was odd was the expression she was wearing.

"You look…cheery," Philippe mumbled, thanking her as he took the offered cup.

"I am…cheery," Selena replied taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Care to…elaborate?" Philippe asked, pulling up his own chair.

"Well," Selena sighed. "Things are going ok at the moment. I'm finally over the whole shock of being a w-… _member_ of the Power of Three."

"You know you can say the word right?" Philippe replied smiling at her obvious avoidance of it.

"Leading up to it, I promise." Selena smiled.

Just then Karlia bounded into the room in a fuzzy pink dressing gown and PJ's with ducks on them that Selena and Philippe found adorable.

"Morning everyone!" Karlia chirped.

"You too?" Selena asked smiling. "High five girl!"

They both high-fived each other.

"Meh," Philippe replied. "Make it three. I too am in a good mood."

"Alright!" Karlia replied high-fiving him also.

She walked over to the percolator and poured some coffee for herself.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain angel staying a little _later_ then he appeared to would it?" she smiled and battered her eye-lashes.

"What?" Selena asked, trying hard not to laugh. "What'd I miss?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Philippe replied simply, though blushing profusely.

With not wanting to be cornered he picked himself up from the chair and coffee in hand headed back upstairs to shower.

"Ah…want to explain that one to _me_?" Selena asked, still confused.

"What Philippe and Leo?" Karlia replied, surprised that Selena didn't know.

Selena spat out the coffee she had just sipped.

"Philippe and Leo!" she replied shocked. "What Philippe and Leo?"

"Oh come on Selena," Karlia whined. "Don't pretend you haven't noticed."

"N-Noticed?!" Selena demanded getting more and more shocked by the moment.

"Urgh!" Karlia grunted. "Philippe is interested in our white-lighter. I thought you knew he was gay."

"I knew he was _gay_ thank-you," Selena spat. "But interested in _our_ white-lighter? I mean shouldn't that be a no-no?"

She got up to wash out her now empty mug.

"Oh my god," Karlia replied. "You're jealous."

"Jealous?!" Selena snorted. "Why would I be jealous?"

" _You_ want Leo!" Karlia replied eyes widening as she spoke.

Selena whirled around in shock and grabbed a trowel to dry the now clean mug.

"Excuse me?" she questioned. "I, unlike some around here, am not interested in white-lighters or any other magickal being."

Karlia made a noise as if to display her disbelief.

"In fact," Selena continued ignoring her. "I've done the whole crush thing and now…well…"

She put the mug away and sat back down.

"I have a date today."

"You do?" Karlia smiled.

It was so unlike Selena to be dating anyone. Admittedly Karlia was only joking around about Leo.

But then it hit her.

"Oh my god! It's with Matt isn't it?!" she half squealed in delight.

Matt was a man that the three of them had run into one night after Philippe and Selena had picked Karlia up from work. Karlia worked at a bar called POT which Philippe had quickly told the girls that they should secretly call their place as it could have been known as the _Power of Three._

While having a few drinks and discussing their day as they liked to do when they picked Karlia up, a man had ordered a drink for Selena and the pair had gotten to talking. Karlia had admired how hot he was and was praising Selena the whole night after finding out they had exchanged numbers.

"Yeah," Selena admitted continuing to blush.

"Oh my god that's awesome Selena!" Karlia beamed.

"Well it was," Selena replied now frowning. "Until I realized I haven't been on a date in like…forever. What the hell do I wear?! How do I act?! What are even the dating rules nowadays?!"

"Honey," Karlia replied, softly grabbing her arm. "Leave it all to me. By this time tonight, you'll be praising me for landing you a second date."

Selena smiled appreciatively. It had not only been a while since she had dated, but also a while since she'd had a girlfriend and in that moment she was glad that her destiny had tied in with her new friend's.

"*"

As Philippe got out of the shower and made his way back to his bedroom he heard the sound of very loud wind chimes. Ensuring the towel was firmly wrapped around him, he pushed open the door.

There, right near his bed was a swirl of white and blue lights and not too much later sat on his bed was…

"Oh-my-god Leo!" Philippe freaked, becoming immediately self-conscious and freezing the white lighter at once.

"Hurrrrrrrr!" Philippe panicked, racing into his closet to grab the closest thing he could find which in this case was a grey fitted sweater and some dark brown Armani dress pants.

Knowing that Leo could unfreeze at any moment, Philippe grabbed a dark blue scarf and almost threw it around his neck before racing back towards the door way.

"Let's hope he didn't see me, let's hope he didn't see me," he thought as he slowly unfroze the man he had been crushing head over heels for since the day they'd met.

"Leo, ah…hi," Philippe started casually.

Leo looked at Philippe in shock and then awe.

"That…was quick," he replied smiling. "…frozen?"

Philippe gave him an _are-you-kidding-me_ look.

"You knew?" he asked.

"Well it's kind of hard to miss…Selena, Karlia, hi!"

Philippe whirled around and noticed the ladies behind him.

"Hey Leo," Selena smirked, wondering what exactly would have been going on had they came up the stairs five minutes later. "What's going on?"

"I…uh," Leo started, now standing. "Have an assignment for you."

"Oh great!" Selena replied quite sarcastically. "Well as long as you can fit it in _after_ my date we're all good."

With that she grabbed Karlia and made to walk away but Karlia didn't move.

"Ah, no Selena. We need to talk about this now I'm afraid," Leo replied.

"Downstairs?" Philippe asked, wanting badly to get out of his room.

"Sure," Leo replied walking past Selena and Karlia, Philippe following in toe.

" _Couldn't have moved a little quicker could you_?" Selena asked Karlia out of the corner of her mouth.

"Urgh! Come on S, the sooner we find out what we need to do, the sooner you get to go on your date."

Though she was disappointed by the arrival of Leo, she was so delighted at the possibility of still seeing Matt that Selena picked up her speed and almost bolted downstairs.

"*"

"Ok Leo, so what's up?" Selena asked the white lighter taking a seat on the couch.

She was impatient and knew she needed to get the ball rolling.

"Do you guys remember the demon Katya?" he asked innocently.

"Who?" Karlia asked, while Selena shook her head.

"Upper-level demon, wanted to destroy empires and crumble cities and opened Pandora's box why?" Philippe asked.

"Seriously?" Selena asked. "How do you remember all of this?"

"It's a gift," Philippe replied quickly.

"Oh yeah," Karlia reminisced. "Had good fashion sense that one."

Philippe and Selena simply rolled their eyes.

"What about her Leo?" Philippe asked.

"Well, she's trying to make a claim to be the new source and-"

"Whoa!" Selena interrupted.

"New source?!" Philippe screamed. "But how? Isn't demondon meant to be lying dormant for a while?"

Leo smiled at the casualness of Philippe's use of the common underworld name.

"Not anymore," he said simply. "There are several demons who are trying to stake a claim to the throne and Katya is just one of them."

"Great!" Selena replied crossing her arms. "Just great."

There was no way she was going to get to her date now.

"So what do you need us to do?" Philippe asked.

"Yeah and will it take long, because Selena has a date." Karlia added.

Philippe whirled around and wide-eyed at her audacity to speak to their white lighter in such a manner.

But Leo simply continued unfazed.

"Well Karlia, if you're happy to do Selena's share now then she can go as far as I'm concerned."

Selena's face lit up.

"Really?" she asked not daring to believe it.

"Power of three not required?" Philippe asked.

"Not at this stage no, but Selena will need to be on-call just in case."

"That-" Selena started, getting up from off the couch. "I can handle."

She then raced upstairs just in case Leo decided to change his mind.

"I better help her prepare Philippe; you know what she's like in these moments."

Philippe smiled and shooed her away. If anything this would give him some more time alone with Leo. Even if that meant discussing what they needed to do, Philippe was all good with that.

"So…" Philippe started not exactly knowing what to say. "Demon Katya, wanting to be nominated for Demon of the year, continue."

Leo smiled. He couldn't help it; despite not wanting to have any sort of emotions towards his charges this time around he admired Philippe's dedication. Especially when everyone else seemed to be abandoning the cause.

Philippe noticed the smile and could only hope that it would lead to more, but all thoughts of that even being a possibility fled as Leo continued.

"Yes, so Katya is after this gem known as the Emerald Jewel have-" he started but Philippe jumped right in.

"No way!" he half screamed. "Isn't it meant to have been lost for like a century or something?"

Again Leo smiled, the amount of info this guy knew just never ceased to amaze him.

"Well yes," Leo continued impressed. "But her minions seem to have tracked it down to a hundred-yard radius."

"Oh my!" Philippe replied. "That's narrowing it down."

"Isn't it?" Leo smiled, then shook his head needing very much to focus.

"Anyway the reason you guys need to get involved is-"

"Stop her getting the jewel by getting it first?" Philippe guessed.

"Correct," Leo replied. "But be warned that-"

"Whomever takes it from its resting place has to pass it to the person it will infect?" Philippe guessed again, knowing he was right.

"Right," Leo smiled. "Philippe how'd you-?"

"Like I told Karlia," Philippe replied. "It's a gift."

"Y-y-y-y-es-s-s," Leo dragged out. "But the Emerald Jewel wasn't mentioned in any of the charmed episodes."

"Leo," Philippe replied taking his hands into his own as if to make a point. "I can't explain it, but from a young age I always felt like I would be fighting evil someday, so I did my research. Now knowing it actually happened, I take this very seriously."

"Clearly," Leo smiled gazing into Philippe's eyes.

"So!" Selena called out, quickly breaking the metaphorical spell that had clearly come over the pair. "What do you think?"

As they quickly let go of each other's hands and turned to look at her, Philippe had to stop himself from bursting into laughter. She was dressed like a real _le femme nikkita._

Adorning a sleeveless open-zipped black blouse and leather pants, the look had been contrasted with a stunning silver teardrop necklace and two silver bracelets on her left arm. From her ears dangled diamond chandelier earrings and her hair was up in a very tight pony tail that was straightened and hung neatly down her back.

It was so not Selena and Philippe knew that all of this down to the earrings themselves had come from Karlia's closet.

"You hate it," Selena moaned disappointed.

"No. it's not that," Philippe replied. "It looks great, very _woman of the night_ , but ah, two things…"

He got up and raced over to her.

"One- it's not night time and ah two- isn't this a _first_ date?"

"Oh lighten up Philippe," Karlia replied bounding into the room joyously. "It's not every day our beautiful Selena goes out; let her have a little fun."

"You know what?" Philippe considered. "You're right Karlia. Enjoy honey, honestly you _do_ look amazing!"

"I agree," Leo half-heartedly piped-up not really knowing if anyone cared for his opinion.

"Really Leo?" Selena enquired, shoving Philippe aside so that he could get a better view. "It's not too _come hither_ is it?"

Leo laughed.

"Selena, I don't think this attire was even born in the _come hither_ era," He got up and smiled again. "Really it looks great."

"Thank you Leo," Selena smiled and satisfied, walked towards the entrance hall where she picked up her bag and matching leather jacket. "Alright lovelies, I'll see you all later."

"And if you have any issues, you know whose name to use!" Philippe yelled out jokingly.

He was referring to an incident that had happened not long after Leo had introduced himself. It had become known very quickly that any time his name was called he would come _orbing_ in. Selena found this information to be particularly true when she had simply uttered his name in passing, purely commenting on how their lives had changed including Leo, when he came orbing in all flustered as though there had been an emergency.

"Yeah, but don't use his name otherwise!" Karlia called out. "And make sure you're alone when y-"

But the sound of a slamming door confirmed Selena had left.

"*"

Not too much later Karlia and Philippe could be found in the attic chopping up ingredients for a potion they were working on.

"Does it really make that much of a difference it we just guess?" Karlia asked sweating as she continued to cut a particularly tough mandrake root.

"Well, ah, yeah!" Philippe replied. "I mean I've never done it, but I know the Halliwell's have and let me tell you a _pinch_ means a _pinch_!"

To make his point, he broke off no more than a pinch of wolfs bane placing it into the pot.

"Alright," Karlia sighed as she continued chopping.

Philippe added the unicorn hair and vampire blood to the pot and kept stirring. He loved being a power of three member so much, however at times like these he would have preferred to be going on a date like Selena or even anxiously waiting for her to get back home. Not to get him wrong, he loved his job, but the thrill of it had worn off over the last few days and mixing potions weren't as exhilarating as they once were.

"Ok 2 grams of finely chopped mandrake root!" Karlia proudly proclaimed and carefully with a knife pushed it from the chopping board into the pot.

"Ok," Philippe replied. "Then adding the basil, thank you Paige-"

One good thing about being the second lot to become the power of three was that there were all these little notes here and there written by the former charmed ones and even their ancestors. Particularly in the potions department it seemed Paige had taken it upon herself to write little notes here and there next to ingredients. On this occasion she had written a note next to the ingredient Basilius it read.

 _Note for next time: Basilius means Basil. Took 3 fricken hours to find that out last time!_

"Yeah she's really come in hand with all her side-notes hasn't she?" Karlia asked.

"Uh-huh!" Philippe agreed.

"Ok and now it's almost ready but we need to bless it." He finished.

"Bless it?" Karlia asked.

"Yeah I know, weird huh?" Philippe asked. "Fortunately all we have to do is stand over it, hold hands and say the spell."

"Oh," Karlia replied relieved. "Ok well that's fine."

She held out her hands but received a nasty shock as quick-as-lightening Philippe pricked her finger with a pin.

"OW!" Karlia yelped standing back offended. "Philippe! What the-?"

"Sorry," Philippe replied, not at all sounding apologetic. "We also need blood and you _know_ what I'm like with needles."

"And _yet_ ," Karlia replied with a hint of disdain. "You have no qualms with pricking _me!_ "

Philippe simply ignored her and grabbed her finger squeezing it into the pot. Karlia felt a minor wave of nausea reach her stomach as the blood left her finger and dripped into the pot.

"Ok," Philippe started, now tossing her finger aside as though it were an old newspaper he no longer needed. "And now we say the spell."

Karlia felt very affronted and quite frankly offended by what Philippe had done, but she knew that now was not the time to mention it and so they both looked at the book and repeated the spell while holding hands over the simmering pot.

 _Demon that shifts the shapes of this world_

 _Demon who carries seis._

 _This potion now blessed by the power of two_

 _Will surely meet your demise._

Immediately the pot smoked and Karlia jumped alarmed. Once the smoke had cleared she saw that Philippe was busy transferring it into vials.

"Can you get me some more please?" he asked not looking up.

"Sure," Karlia replied racing off to do just that.

"Philippe, why are you so _rushy-rushy_ today?" she asked as she placed more vials on the table.

"Two reasons," he replied. "One, you never know when she'll strike and I want to be prepared and two…"

He corked the last vial tightly, looked up and smiled.

"Now that we're done I get to do my favourite part."

"What favourite part?" Karlia asked. "It's done isn't it?"

"Almost," Philippe smiled looking upwards. "Leo!"

"Ohhhh" Karlia mouthed as Leo orbed in to the attic.

"*"

 _And so that's the end of the first chapter. I basically wanted to reintroduce the characters, set-up the first demon assignment and have Selena finally go on a date._

 _So what did you think? Please leave a review and let me know. I take all reviews, critiques and criticism onboard so please be honest, I'd love to know your opinion._

 _ **Next time on The Power of Three**_ _: You may think all is well at the Power Port._

 _(Philippe): "You look… cheery."_

 _(Karlia) "It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain angel staying a little later then he appeared to would it?"_

 _(Selena): "I have a date!"_

 _But if you thought after two books in the series you knew the Power of Three._

 _Beat, Beat, Beat, Beat…You-were-dead-wrong!_

 _(Selena, shocked): "Oh…my…god."_

 _This time prepare for things to shift into another gear_

 _(Leo, yelling) "It's completely different!"_

 _Their lives will be affected more than ever before_

 _(Philippe, worried): "But how?!"_

 _(Karlia, puzzled): "Really?"_

 _And it's not just Katya that will have everyone worried_

 _(Selena): "You have *_ got* _to be kidding me."_

 _All new Power of Three – A Lover's Day/Night next week!_


	2. Chapter 2: Tagging Out

_Hey Guys! Hope you all had an awesome week and that you enjoyed the first chapter of the 3_ _rd_ _book!_

 _Wiccancharmedguy- I'm glad you are loving the series I can honestly say I will always write the power of three. It's an idea I came up with many many years ago and I promised myself I'd write 10 in the series no matter what. It is sad that I lost 5 of them as I was only 3 away from achieving that target once. However I am now back on the path. Thanks again._

 _Mirzaisnow- I'm glad you loved Katya I did too. She wasn't my favourite but she was definitely top 5! As far as The Power of Three is concerned some things have remained the same (one example being Philippe's interest in Leo – I actually had them moments away from the altar in my 7_ _th_ _book before I lost it - another being Karlia's workplace POT that was always there) and others have changed (some examples being - Karlia dated a guy from the future who was also a witch, but I dropped that storyline - And that Natalie white-lighter from charmed made an appearance one time, Selena even called her 'Kung Fu Tiger' - but don't worry Natalie and Leo were frozen at the time hehe - this too is no longer)._

 _Ok guys so let's continue on, we pick up at Selena's date…enjoy!_

 **The Power of Three – A Lover's Day/Night.**

 **CHAPTER TWO – Tagging Out.**

Selena meanwhile had been waiting for nearly half an hour for Matt to show-up. The restaurant was lovely enough, however he had chosen a fancy place and with what she had chosen to wear she felt very much out of place.

"A 2008 Chateaubriand for the lovely lady?" A kind waiter offered.

"Oh. No-no," Selena replied "Thank you though."

"Mr. Marcons ordered it himself as a peace-offering to being so delayed," the waiter advised.

"Oh. Well in that case," Selena smiled, allowing the man to fill her glass.

"Very good madam," the waiter replied. "Mr. Marcons also advises he will be here shortly he has been held up."

"Thank you for letting me know," Selena smiled, not wanting to be rude.

"But of course madam," the waiter replied before leaving her to the wine.

Selena took a sip rather frustrated. It was one thing for Matt not to be here, another for her to feel uncomfortable sitting in a fancy restaurant receiving looks from patrons as though she prowled the street at night, but quite another altogether considering she really could have been back at the Power Port right now assisting Karlia and Philippe.

She was just about to ask the waiter for a pad and pen on which she would advise Matt she had to go, when an unexpected kiss was planted on her cheek. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was, she could get lost in that cologne for hours.

"Matt," she smiled now swooning.

Unlike herself, Matt had dressed quite appropriately in an Armani Suit and tie.

"Look at you," he smiled. "I love the outfit."

Selena smiled back riley.

"Well if _someone_ had told me we were having our first date at the _Proper French ladies society meet-up_ maybe I would have come dressed appropriately."

"I think you look amazing…sexy if I may say," Matt replied cheekily.

"Says he who fits right in with the ladies society place," Selena spat back.

Matt ignored her last remark and continued on as though nothing had been said.

"I must apologize for the delay," he began smiling. "Sadly with my job, sometimes last minute meetings are called and they are unavoidable."

"Well a little notice wouldn't have hurt," Selena replied. "But don't worry you're not that late."

She smiled at him once more, remembering all the reasons she had fallen for this guy in the first place. He was in short, a gorgeous man. Though you couldn't tell through the suit, what his attire at POT had shown was that he had a chiseled…well everything and his eyes were the deepest brown. His hair was thick, dark brown and parted in the middle. Short but not too short; it hung at a perfect shoulder length. She realized he was smiling back at her and she couldn't help but notice how truly white his teeth were.

Shaking her head as if to come back to reality Selena picked up the menu sitting in front of her.

"Shall we order?" she asked, hoping it came off sounding casual.

"Oh yes," Matt replied. "After the day I've had today, I'm starving!"

"*"

Leo orbed in looking quite pleased with their efforts.

"Done already?" he asked smiling.

"Yep," Philippe beamed, while Karlia gave him a wry smile.

"So what's next Leo," Karlia asked in a rush. "No offence but my time off needs to be in a couple of hours as I have a date this evening."

Philippe gave Karlia an _are you freaking kidding me_ look.

"You _too_?!" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Karlia replied. "In fact I set this up last week, so it's kind of important to me that I stick to it."

Just then the sound of chimes could be heard.

"What's that?" Karlia asked stunned by the noise.

"They're calling you aren't they?" Philippe asked worried.

"Yeah," Leo replied.

"Go-go," Philippe allowed. "We'll see you when you get back."

Leo smiled. With one witch gone and another looking like she'd be out of commission in just a couple of hours, at least he could still rely on Philippe.

"Thanks Philippe," he replied. "See you in a bit."

And with that Leo orbed out of the attic in a swirl of white and blue lights.

"So…ah I know you're all up to speed with the official Power of Three almanac," Karlia started hands squarely placed on her hips. "But since I'm not would you mind explaining where the hell he went, why and more importantly how this will impact on _my_ date this evening?"

Philippe couldn't help but smile. Amongst all the stress they had to deal with, he appreciated that Karlia looked so cute when she tried to be angry. It just didn't work on her, she was too light.

"Ok," he smiled leading her to the chaise-lounge and guiding her down to sit with him. "One – He went _up there_. Two – Chime noises are _their_ way of contacting him and Three – I'm sure you'll make your date once Selena comes home and can tag-team with you."

"Oh," Karlia replied, quickly turning her former frown into a beaming smile. "Excellent, because I need some advice on what to wear tonight and you know what they say _'Get a gay to dress you today…'_ "

"Get a groom to marry you tomorrow?" Philippe questioned.

"Close enough," Karlia chuckled getting up and grabbing Philippe's arm. "Come on!"

"*"

A couple of hours later and Selena was in Matt's car being driven back home. The sun was already starting to set and despite the fact that she hadn't been contacted Selena really felt bad the longer time went on for staying out so late and not helping the others.

She had ended up having a fabulous time and Matt was very close to perfect. The one thing that had disturbed her slightly was the fact that he had ordered a rare steak. It was off-putting for Selena as she tried to eat her well-done one and she couldn't help but think about it on the car ride home.

"Contemplating what you're going to do with your next date?" Matt joked, noticing how deep in thought she was.

"Yeah," Selena replied lightly. "How am I going to prepare for a _night_ time date? Ugh, the stress is killing me."

The pair shared a laugh; it was nice to see that another tick could be added to the plus column. This guy could definitely handle her humor.

"So," Matt began seriously. "I'm sorry about the whole lunch-date thing. Seriously, I work at night and just can't date then. My boss would literally have my head if I showed up late."

"Mmmm," Selena agreed. "I know what you mean, I worked for this boss once and seriously even if you were _one minute_ late he'd send you home without pay."

Matt didn't respond and just kept on driving. Selena disappointed noticed he kept looking at the time and it was really starting to bug her.

"Sorry for keeping you from…whatever I'm keeping you from," she said getting more and more saddened by the minute.

"Whatever do you mean?" Matt asked.

"Well, it's just…" she started.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You keep looking at the time like you've got to rush off somewhere the minute your drop me off." She finished, feeling it was better to be honest this early in the process.

"Oh," Matt replied, shaking his head. "Sorry, that obvious is it?"

"Kind of. Yeah," Selena replied.

"Sorry, it's just I…have to give a motion this evening and I'm really nervous about it," he rushed; making it sound like the words had been strung together.

"Oh!" Selena replied. "Of course! That would do it. I hate motions too, believe me."

All too soon the pair arrived back at the power-port. Matt turned off the ignition and gazed into her eyes.

"But don't get me wrong," he smiled. "I had a fabulous time."

Selena swooned. This guy was just oozing passion. If not for his motion, she would have invited him upstairs, after telling Philippe and Karlia to vamoose of course.

"Me too," she replied.

"We should do this again," Matt said boldly.

"Tomorrow?" Selena asked hopefully.

"Tomorrow it is!" Matt replied leaning in to kiss his date.

"*"

"It's perfect!" Philippe replied as Karlia twirled once more.

She wasn't wrong when she'd said she needed help. Clearly she could help others, but when it came to herself she just had no idea.

He had helped her select a silver sparkling embellished strapless prom dress, which she had accompanied with a silver long sleeved grey laced jacket. She accessorized and completed the look with a Collette Z sterling silver cubic zirconia round necklace and Buy Peora silver dangling earrings. Her hair was up in a tight bun and the whole look screamed elegance.

"It is Philippe!" Karlia screamed happily. "Thank you!"

She wrapped her arms around his waist thrilled with the result.

"Hello!" came Selena's voice from downstairs. "Anyone home?"

"We're up here!" Karlia yelled back.

"Up where?!" Selena asked.

"Karlia's bedroom!" Philippe replied.

"Karlia's bedroom?" Selena questioned. "That's never a good thing."

She raced up the flight of stairs and bolted in Karlia's room as quickly as her boots would let her.

"Oh," she said, noticing the reason why. "Karlia…you look…amazing!"

"Thanks sweetie," Karlia smiled.

"Your turn?" Selena questioned.

"Yep," Philippe replied. "Time to tag out. You have five minutes to get changed if you need to and then two minutes to meet me in the attic. It's go time!"

"Wow!" Selena replied. "Apparently. Well Karlia, enjoy and have fun."

She quickly hugged the blonde.

"I will," Karlia replied. "And I want to hear all about _lover boy_ when I return ok?"

"Count on it," Selena replied eyes widening as though she had much to share.

Then, taking Philippe's instructions, fled to her room to change.

Just then white and blue lights could be seen and moments later their white-lighter appeared.

"Leo! You're back!" Philippe couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry if I took to-" he paused and frowned when he noticed the blonde. "Karlia? Um so about your date…"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Karlia whined. " _She_ got to date, why not me?!"

"I'm not saying no," Leo replied.

"Oh," Karlia said, closing her mouth rather quickly.

"I'm saying we need you home by eleven if that's possible," he finished.

"Eleven?" Philippe questioned. "Oh-k, odd timing Leo."

"It's because there is a full moon tonight and so it's the best time to get to Katya.

"So home by 11 or ready to go by 11?" Karlia asked.

"If possible ready to go," Leo replied.

"No problems," Karlia confirmed grabbing a silver embroided clutch on her way out. "I'll see you too then."

"Have fun!" Philippe yelled out as she started down the stairs.

"I will!" Karlia yelled back up. "And you boys don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

The next thing they heard was the front door close. Philippe and Leo just looked at each other, both going a deep shade of red.

"I'm rea…dy!" Selena stop-started noticing the looks both boys were giving each other. "Ah, ok guys I'm all cool with…this…but um shouldn't we be preparing for Katya?"

"This?" Leo questioned.

"Yes," Philippe replied a nano-second later. "Attic Selena, now."

And placing his arms on her shoulders he turned her around and almost pushed her towards the attic door.

"*"

At 8pm on the dot Karlia stepped into Luminare, she had been reading about this place ever since Alec her date had asked her out here. Looking around she positively beamed. The black and white paintings that bordered the room were a definite compliment to the dark blue couch and glass table atmosphere. And there seated in what looked indeed like a VIP section was her date. Dashing as always Alec, noticing Karlia walked up to her.

"Good evening," he said smiling warmly.

"Evening," Karlia replied politely.

"May I take your coat?" he offered.

"Why yes," Karlia replied. "Yes you may."

The evening went as well as she had pictured it would. Alec was an absolute gentleman the whole night, just like on the evening they had met. Alec had actually stopped by POT in clear need of some alcohol. He'd said he had a tough day with his family and needed some time to clear his head. Immediately Karlia had been attracted to him and the pair had gotten to talking.

It hadn't taken her long to learn that Alec had been born in Massachusetts and had only recently moved to Melbourne. His family were apparently very well known in their city, but his parents had wanted a more sheltered life for their children and therefore had decided to move. She had also discovered that he was one of 3 children having one older sister and one younger brother. Other than that she'd learned he was a skilled chess player and had done some modeling on the side to pay for his bachelor's degree in culinary arts which he had only just completed.

"You know," Karlia started, reminiscing on this fact. "One day you'll have to cook for me. I'd love to taste something from you."

"It would be my pleasure," Alec replied. "Maybe next time you can come to the house and I'll make us a dining experience to remember."

"Oh how charming that sounds," Karlia replied, before instantly wondering where these words had come from.

 _Had she said them? They certainly didn't sound like words she used._

"By the way," Alec continued not really noticing Karlia's momentary lapse. "I need to apologize but I won't be able to see you tomorrow."

This was disappointing news for Karlia as she was very much looking forward to seeing Alec the following day.

"Sadly I have a family emergency and there's just no way of getting out of it."

"Believe me," Karlia smiled. "I know how that feels. I actually have one of my own later on tonight and if we don't finish it we'll be at it again all day and night tomorrow. Got to love families am I right?"

"Indeed," Alec replied. "Can't live with them-"

"Can't live without 'em. I know urgh, so draining," Karlia replied.

Then she noticed the time and amazingly it was already 9:30pm.

"Urgh, probably only have time for a quick desert," she said sadly. "I need to be home by ten thirty."

"No exceptions?" Alec enquired.

"No exceptions," Karlia confirmed. "My, ah…father is very strict."

By _father_ Karlia clearly meant Leo and she knew indeed that he would have her head if she wasn't ready to go at eleven on the dot.

"That's ok," Alec said. "There's something I may need to do tonight also. The family is meeting an old friend and I said I'd put in an appearance if the time warranted."

"Well, I guess it all works out then huh?" Karlia asked.

"Indeed," Alec replied smiling. "So then…desert?"

He handed Karlia the menu. This was a good idea as it had taken her no less than ten minutes to opt for an entrée and then another 5 for a Main. As beautiful as this place was they were limited on meals and none of them had actually screamed out to her.

Not too much later Karlia and Alec had finished their deserts and were headed out the door when a lady called out to him.

"Alec!" she screamed, walking rather quickly over.

"Sorry about this," Alec quickly whispered as the woman got nearer. "Chessie!"

"Didn't think you were leaving without a hello or even a goodbye now did you?" she asked overly bubbly.

"Of course not," Alec replied hugging the woman.

"Oooh and you brought a date! Who is this gorgeous woman?" she asked.

"Chessie I'd like you to meet Karlia," Alec said pointing to her. "Karlia this is Chessie, she owns the place and is a family friend."

"Oh..Ooooh!" Karlia said stumbling all over her words. "Oh hi! I love your place it's so-"

"Well sweetie it's not exactly _my_ place, I don't _live_ here," she said bursting into laughter, which Alec politely joined in.

Karlia immediately wished he hadn't.

"Sorry, that's not what I-"

"Oh I know sweetie, I was just having a laugh," Chessie interrupted for the second time.

"Well you are one gorgeous girl!" she summed up before turning to Alec. "Don't let this one get away, she's lovely!"

"Th…Thank you," Karlia stammered, still questioning if Chessie was being genuine or not.

"*"

Selena was pacing in the hall-way it was 10:50pm and there was no sign at all of Karlia.

"Where is she? Where is she?" Selena mumbled to herself.

It turned out that Katya was going to be trying to steal the jewel tonight, under the guise of the full-moon apparently it would be easier and Leo had advised them that Katya had found what he had called reinforcements and so all three needed to be properly prepared.

Though at this rate Karlia would barely have time to change let alone get this info fed to her before they were to be magically transported by Leo to their destination.

Just then Selena heard the unmistakable sound of kissing from behind the front door.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She fumed as she raced over and pulled the door open with quite a bit of force.

As expected, Karlia and Alec were indeed standing there making out for all the world to see. Selena cleared her throat, but neither took any notice.

"Um, Hello?!" she screamed.

"Oh," Alec started, startled. "Ah hi, I'm-"

"Yeah that's great," Selena cut him off. "It's now 10:52pm missy!"

"Oh crap," Karlia replied. "Ah Alec, sorry I have to…"

"Duty calls," Alec replied understanding. "It was nice to meet you um-"

As they hadn't been formally introduced Alec didn't know this huffy woman's name.

"Gate keeper," Selena replied snappily. "And its curfew, so if you don't mind."

"Selena!" Karlia growled.

"It's ok Kay," Alec said. "I'll see you soon."

With that he quickly raced down the stone steps as Selena yanked Karlia inside.

"*"

 _Wow, she was cutting it pretty close there wasn't she?_

 _I hope you liked the chapter. What did you think of Matt? How about Alec? Definitely wanted to start setting the members up with loved ones hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review and let me know._

 _ **Next time on The Power of Three:**_ _Just when everyone seems to be finding someone to love._

 _(Selena): "Tomorrow?"_

 _(Matt): "Tomorrow it is!"_

 _(Alec): "May I take your coat?"_

 _(Karlia): "Why yes…yes you may."_

 _Beat, Beat, Beat, Beat…What-makes-Philippe-snap?!_

 _(Leo, concerned): "Are you ok?"_

 _(Philippe, snapping): "I'm fine! I can take care of myself you know!"_

 _What is it that has everyone on edge?_

 _(Karlia, snapping): "I don't know Selena! If I did I would tell you!"_

 _(Selena, pissed-off) "Seriously! You know what? I am so *done* with this crap!"_

 _(Philippe sarcastically): "Um…ah, sorry your majesty…gotta run...?! I think not!"_

 _But it's what happens at the end of the chapter that will change the fight for good._

 _(Leo, panicked) "I tell you what! Those people, in there, with her, are….."_

 _(Selena, screams): "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

 _All new Power of Three next week._


	3. Chapter 3: I care more than you think

_Hey Guys! Hope you all had a mystical week and didn't run very close to being late for something important like our friend Karlia here did._

 _Trystyle – Yes Matt and Alec are quite different aren't they? But then again Selena and Karlia are different too, so both seem to work for both. I'm glad your enjoying the story._

 _Ursala H – Yes at the moment the plan is to only do 10 chapters, but I'll see how I go. Ultimately I am hoping to get back to my Fighting for no Reward series soon and that is why. But I'll see how the book goes and if I need more I'll add more. I would then just be writing 2 books and it may take longer._

 _Ok so let's get back to the Power-Port shall we, where Karlia is indeed cutting things quite fine._

 **The Power of Three – A Lover's Day/Night.**

 **CHAPTER THREE – I care more than you think.**

"What the heck Karlia?" she started. "We have to get going in 7 minutes to fight demon woman and her minions and god only knows what else and here you are making out with some dude like it's the finale of the bachelorette?!"

"Don't worry," Karlia replied racing past her. "I'm going I'm…"

But then suddenly Karlia was gone.

"Karlia!" Selena screamed. "Where the hell are you?!"

"I'm in my room!" Karlia screamed out. "…somehow."

Indeed Karlia had somehow managed to make it up a flight of stairs and into her room without really moving too far at all.

"Hey Karlia," Philippe said from behind her. "Nice orbing!"

"What the?" Karlia jumped, before turning around and seeing Philippe there sitting on her bed. "Philippe! You scared the crap out of me!"

Philippe quickly jumped up and motioned for her to turn around, which she did. He then immediately unzipped her dress, shocking her even more.

"Ok change of clothes on the bed, I'm not looking," he advised.

"Ok changing, changing…jeez!" Karlia replied as she quickly stepped out of her dress and changed into the stretch pants and loose t-shirt Philippe had placed ready.

"Now can we talk about what you just said, this ah, orbing thing."

"Orbing?" Selena questioned. "Who's orbing?"

Philippe forcibly pressed a hair-tie into Karlia's left hand and yanked on her right leading her out of the bedroom.

"Karlia is," Philippe replied dismissively. "But that's not what's important right now. Karlia listen up and listen good Leo will be here in 5 minutes and there is so much you still need to know."

And he continued talking to her all the while dragging her up to the attic.

"*"

By 11pm Selena and Philippe had only _just_ managed to get everything through to Karlia. Whether she would be able to retain it or not was another story altogether, but she had been advised of the basics of the plan.

"So you got all that?" Selena asked.

"I think so," Karlia replied. "Leo takes us there, we split up and surround the place and then when one of us sees her we call for him and he'll orb us to the others and then we vanquish her sorry ass right?"

"Basically right," Philippe said. "Now don't forget-"

"Right," Karlia stopped him. "She's recruited minions, though we have no idea what so we need to be extra careful."

Philippe breathed out a huge sigh of relief and handed her two vials of the potion they had made earlier before turning to Selena.

"Oh my god that was so close I can almost hear Pete Evan's say-" Philippe started.

"Times up step away from your benches?" Selena guessed.

"Pretty much," Philippe replied.

"We'd better hug then," Selena said. "You know like the contestants do."

The pair did and at that moment Leo orbed in.

"Philippe and Selena," he said seriously having everyone worried. "Tonight you served me Karlia prepped for the task ahead and therefore I score you…"

Enjoying that Leo had joined in to their little joke Philippe and Selena mocked looking at each other worried and Philippe bit into his nails for effect.

"…A ten!"

Philippe and Selena smiled and cheered.

"Ok. Well done Philippe, Well done Selena," Karlia mocked. "Leo, it's 2 past 11 now just so you know."

Indeed this brought Leo right back to the present.

"Ok everyone hang on to me and-"

But before he even had the chance to finish his sentence Philippe jumped forward and grabbed Leo's waist. There was no way he was going to miss this opportunity.

"Um ok," Leo replied smiling at Philippe's eagerness. "Selena and Karlia grab onto Philippe."

Karlia pocketed her vials then she and Selena grabbed onto Leo as he orbed them out of the attic.

"*"

As soon as they arrived Philippe had known it, but that didn't mean he couldn't feign not knowing this to grant himself more hugging time with Leo.

"Ah Philippe?" Leo questioned soothingly moving a hand through his hair. "It's ok we're here."

Philippe who had his eyes squeezed shut for dramatic emphasis now opened them.

"Oh," he replied acting embarrassed. "Thanks Leo, you just never know with orbing."

Karlia and Selena both rolled their eyes but Leo, focused on Philippe didn't even notice.

"That's ok," he smiled. "It takes a bit of getting used to."

"I do feel a little light headed," Philippe lied.

"That's normal too," Leo admitted. "Why don't I stick with you just to make sure you're ok? Selena and Karlia you too can go together too."

"Thanks Leo," Philippe replied hugging his white lighter.

Now facing Karlia and Selena, Philippe gave them a big toothy grin. Karlia smiled back trying desperately hard not to laugh, while Selena simply glared at Philippe. Both knew exactly what he was up to.

"Ok," Leo continued stepping out of the hug and addressing Selena and Karlia. "You two go to the left, we'll go to the right. Any signs of danger you can't handle…"

"We'll holler," Selena quickly replied before taking Karlia by the arm and leading her to the left.

Philippe took a moment to look straight ahead. There in front of them stood what appeared to be a very old mansion. Despite it being appropriately lit, this mansion seemed to be surrounded by nothing other than a huge forest. Now that he thought about it he realized just how strange it was to have this huge property literally in the middle of nowhere.

"So, this is it?" he asked Leo slightly in awe.

"Yep, the old Bloodworth mansion," Leo replied.

Philippe looked at Leo not quite knowing what to say.

"Bloodw-"

"It's a name Philippe," Leo replied smiling. "Derived from old English, it literally means enclosure."

"Oh," Philippe replied. "In that case, how original."

Leo smiled tightly.

"Come on we better get moving. Katya could be in there already."

The pair made their way around the cream coated property and noticed the golden framed arch windows and the gorgeous cream pillar railings. Had they been here at another time and not when they need to be on the demon-hunt, Philippe definitely would have loved to give this place a proper look over.

"They sure knew how to do it back in the day didn't they?" Leo asked noticing Philippe enjoying their surroundings.

"That's for sure," Philippe replied. "It's gorgeous, spacious and not to mention private. It's perfect."

"Well I wish Mr. Bloodworth was still around, I would've let him know for you," Leo cracked.

Philippe nudged the white lighter in the ribs but chuckled nonetheless.

"It's awfully quiet," Philippe noticed. "You'd think there'd be a lot of noise what with Katya and her minions inside and surrounding the place."

"They're probably not here yet," Leo replied.

"Well then Leo, what exactly are we planning t-" Philippe stopped midsentence as from out of nowhere a giant dog raced directly at him. "Oh my god!"

Instantly Leo grabbed onto Philippe and orbed him inside the mansion.

"*"

Meanwhile Karlia and Selena weren't finding anything interesting at all and so had turned to their own form of entertainment, gossip.

"Can you believe him?" Selena asked, referring to Philippe.

"Well kind of yeah," Karlia chuckled. "The guy is crazy in love with him and took a chance."

"As long as it doesn't get us all killed," Selena replied moving yet another branch out of her way.

The left side of the mansion seemed to be filled with so many trees and their branches seemed to make it almost all the way to the mansion wall itself.

"It won't," Karlia said. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"I _mean_ what if some demon starts attacking us and we need L- our _white lighter_ ," Selena carefully corrected not wanting him to suddenly appear. "And he comes half dressed and exhausted because he's used too much energy on Ph-"

She stopped as soon as she heard Karlia laughing.

"Ok," Selena admitted giving Karlia a sideways glance and a small smile. "Maybe that was taking it a tad too far."

"Hey it's a beautiful mansion," Karlia replied. "Who knows? Warm fire, cozy bed…"

Selena nudged Karlia in the ribs.

"I swear if it happens I'm blaming you," she replied moving yet another branch out of her way.

"Speaking of warm fire, cozy bed," Karlia continued. "How'd things go with Matt huh?"

"Oh Matt's fine," Selena replied. "He just…"

Instantly Karlia stopped walking.

"What?" she asked.

Selena turned to face her friend. If she couldn't confide in her, who could she confide in?

"He ah…has this weird food thing!" Selena whined.

"F-food thing," Karlia replied through laughter. "What food thing?"

"It's silly," Selena replied walking once more. "Let's just keep moving."

"Oh, no-no,no!" Karlia challenged. "You can't say something like that and stop halfway through!"

"Fine," Selena relented. "But we better keep moving anyway. I don't like the look of that forest over there and the sooner we get done the sooner we can leave."

"I'm with you there sister," Karlia replied. "The inside may be cozy, but the outside is just…creepy."

"*"

"Are you ok?" Leo asked seeing Philippe shake.

"I'm fine," Philippe replied standing up and moving away from Leo. "I can take care of myself you know."

"I never said you couldn't," Leo replied surprised at the edginess in his voice.

"What do you care?" Philippe asked. "It's not like you're my boyfriend or anything. Just…urgh…I hate when animals lunge!"

"I care more than you think," Leo replied.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" Philippe started, and then realized what Leo had said. "Wait. What did you just say?"

"I _said_ ," Leo replied walking over to him. "That I _care_ more than you think."

Philippe was shocked, startled and very shook-up, so he didn't exactly know what to say. So he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Well you're our white lighter, so that's good to know." He said before rushing on. "Do I need some healing?"

He looked at his arms and then started looking at his legs.

"No Philippe-" Leo started to reply.

"Oh. Well…" he stopped looking and dared himself to look at Leo. "That's good then, shall we go?"

Despite where Leo had thought this was going, now was clearly not the time to get stuck into it.

"Sure," he replied taking Philippe's lead. "Um…"

He looked around to get his bearings.

"That door on the left will take us on a path towards the front; the one on the right will take us on a path towards the back."

"So many choices," Philippe replied. "Funny, just like life."

He smiled at Leo and then rushed to make a decision.

"Right, let's go right."

The two men walked across the room and Leo held open the door allowing Philippe to walk though.

"Oh my gosh!" Philippe gushed. "It's absolutely GORGEOUS!"

"Shhhhhh!" Leo warned.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Philippe replied temporality forgetting.

He had just been so mesmerized by what he had seen.

The door had lead to an almost all-white room save for some tinges of pink and tinges of gold around it. A huge glass table sat in the middle of the room with no less than 20 chairs surrounding it. All of the chairs looked simply regal with golden open patterned backs save only for a pink cushion square in the middle embroided with roses. The glass table itself was bordered by a golden bumpy patterned line and sets of gold and silver cutlery and dishes sat in front of each place a wine glass with a white napkin placed inside completed the look. Pillars surrounded the room and on the wall each with a 5ft margin sat a shelf with a beautiful vase of roses in them.

"It's like being invited to dinner with the queen herself," Philippe whispered notching that even doing this allowed his voice to carry.

"Or not being invited and breaking in anyway," Leo whispered back smiling. "I never knew this sort of thing interested you."

"Well you don't know me that well," Philippe replied. "So I forgive you."

"Maybe one day I can take you to a fancy place I know, similar to this. You'd be so amazed you'd scream louder than you did before."

"I like the sound of that," Philippe replied smiling before heading off to the set of golden doors that lay ahead.

"*"

"Seriously!" Selena started at once. "If I have to deal with another freaking branch I'm going to crack it."

"Hey, at least they haven't cut you yet!" Karlia replied.

As much fun as the guys were having the women were not doing anywhere near as well. Not only had they found absolutely nothing but they felt like they were being attacked by every single tree branch they passed. Karlia had indeed been scratched by one earlier. Though it had been a minor cut it had begun to bleed. Selena had tried to do whatever she could to stop the bleeding, but found it to be to no avail as moments later another branch hit Karlia in the face and she started bleeding again. By this time Karlia had advised they keep going and hope for the best.

"You know," Selena started. "Piper Halliwell had the power to _blow_ things _up_! Why can't we have that bloody power right now? Would save a lot of time!"

"Ah sweetie," Karlia began. "Didn't Philippe get Piper's powers?"

"It's an al-a a-" Selena started before a branch whacked her again. "Figure of speech Karlia!"

"Oh, ok." Karlia replied. "Ow! Damn it another branch!"

"You know what?" Selena started. "I am so _done_ with this crap. I say we call our white lighter and get him to take us to the non-obstacle-intruding part of this course. What d'ya say?"

But as Selena looked to her left she noticed Karlia wasn't there. She whirled around quickly and noticed the blonde a few feet away staring off into the distance.

"Karlia?" She raced over to her friend. "Karlia wh-"

But Karlia shushed her immediately.

"There's something in there," she said at last trembling with fright.

"*"

The golden doors had led the men to a staircase. It was as beautiful as the rest of the house pinkish-white stairs completed by a black rail with a golden finish.

"Oh my god is everything here gold?" Philippe whispered.

"Mr. Bloodworth was a very rich man," Leo whispered back.

As they made it down the stairs the pair heard voices. The first voices they'd heard since they'd arrived.

"It's coming from over there," Philippe whispered pointing to the right where yet another set of double golden doors stood.

" _Lamia, et unus spiritus, sicut et!_ " was what they could make out.

"It's differently demons," Leo said. "I can feel it."

"And that's definitely a spell they're chanting," Philippe added.

Leo raised his eyebrows.

"Who else speaks random Latin at midnight in an old mansion?" Philippe asked.

"True," Leo responded.

"Question is," Philippe asked. "Is it Katya?"

"I could glamour and find out," Leo suggested.

"I think not!" Philippe replied harshly.

"Why think you not?" Leo asked.

"Because what are you going to do if Selena and Karlia need your help?" Philippe replied. Then put on an accent. " _Um…ah, sorry your majesty. Gotta run!_ I don't think so."

"Well what else do you have in mind?" Leo asked, frustrated.

"Try this one on for size," Philippe replied and placing his hands outwards he softly chanted.

 _Show me what I cannot see._

 _But make sure it's one sided._

 _The people behind cannot see me._

 _That would be undesired._

Unbelievably, it worked.

No sooner had Philippe chanted the made-up spell and the golden doors suddenly became transparent allowing Philippe and Leo to see what was happening on the other side.

"How'd you?-" Leo started.

But Philippe was too transfixed on what he could see in front of him.

"Yep that's definitely her, give or take a few years and…she's having tea?"

Indeed it certainly looked like Katya was pouring out some tea for three people that were with her. There was an older gentleman who appeared to be in his late forties. An older woman who appeared to be in her early forties and a younger man who appeared to be closer to Philippe's age.

"This I did not expect," Leo whispered.

"Is it bad?" Philippe asked before putting his arms back up and jumping straight into another chant.

 _Let me see what cannot be see-_

But Leo grabbed his hands and pulled them down.

"I'll _tell_ you what can't be seen," Leo whispered harshly. "Those people in there with her…are vampires."

"*"

"What do you mean something's in there?" Selena asked on the verge of freaking out.

"I mean there's something…following us," Karlia replied.

"Ok," Selena replied. "Going to need you to be more specific."

"What do you mean?" Karlia replied frustrated.

"Well human or supernatural," Selena replied as though it were obvious.

"Well I don't know if it's supernatural or not Selena, if I did I would tell you!"

At that moment, curiosity seemed to get the better of Selena and she boldly informed Karlia.

"Maybe we should find out."

"Find out?" Karlia questioned. "Are you crazy? This is not some riddle about a wolf, a fireman, a box of cabbages and a goat!"

"You mean goose, farmer, beans and fox right?" Selena corrected.

Karlia annoyed shoed her comment away.

"Who cares?" she cried. "The point is I'm not going in there and neither are you! Who knows what it could be!"

Then just as she'd finished talking a huge dog-like animal came out into a lit area and snarled, its big white teeth clearly visible.

Then suddenly, it began to charge at them.

"Oh my god it's a werewolf!" Karlia rushed, though more matter of factually than anything else.

"A werewolf!" Selena freaked. "That's great Karlia, why couldn't you have told me 5 minutes ago so we could have called Leo and not AHHHHH!"

"*"

 _And that is where we'll leave our friends for this week._

 _What do you think will happen to Selena and Karlia? Sounds like Philippe was a bit short with Leo earlier, what do you think this means? Atleast they have found Katya. From what I know she has never needed vampires before, why do you think she employed them now?_

 _Please leave a review and let me know what you thought._

 **Next time on the Power of Three:** _With everything they've been through you'd think the Power of Three could handle anything right? But next Monday…_

 _(Selena): "_ You know I'm kind of getting sick of this whole magic thing."

 _(Philippe): "It's just hard you know?"_

 _(Karlia): "Get with the times people!"_

 _Love isn't as much in the air as once thought._

 _(Karlia): "So there is no you and Philippe?"_

 _(Leo): "Honestly, I don't think he likes me."_

 _(Philippe to Selena): "For your information there *is* no Leo!"_

 _As the Power of Three come face to face with reality._

 _(Selena): "What the hell do we do now?!"_

 _(Leo): "It's a file on Bloodworth."_

 _Suddenly desperate times call for desperate measures._

 _(Selena): "Philippe, what are you doing?!"_

 _(Philippe): "You said to do whatever I needed to do."_

 _(Selena): "ARE YOU CRAZY?!"_

 _But it's what's revealed at the end of the chapter that will leave your blood running cold._

 _(Philippe): "On three…"_

 _(Selena, shocked): "Philippe! That's…"_

 _BEAT-BEAT-BEAT….WHO-IS-IT?_

 _All new Power of Three next week._


	4. Chapter 4: Power of Three must come 1st

_Hey Guys and welcome to another magically inspired week._

 _LeoM – Yes I think Selena is a little frustrated with everything, she does seem a little erratic doesn't she?_

 _Kelraze – Let's hope they don't get turned. You never know in the world of magic. Anything can happen._

 _MariaT – That's a good guess Maria, it could very well be because Philippe has had bad relationships in the past. Time will definitely tell._

 _AntonY- Needing their blood for rituals I like the idea Anton, let's see if that's the case._

 _Thanks for all of your comments and reviews guys I really appreciate it. So let's see what happened during the aftermath of Karlia, Selena and the wolf._

 **The Power of Three – A Lover's Day/Night.**

 **CHAPTER FOUR – Power of Three must come first.**

Selena and Karlia both felt someone grab them and then the next thing they knew warmth had enveloped them.

"Are we-" Selena started. "Are we dead?"

"Yes Selena. Welcome to Summerland," came a tone dripping with sarcasm that could only be Philippe.

Selena and Karlia both opened their eyes. Karlia upon noticing Philippe and Leo freaked out.

"Oh my god!" she cried out. "You guys are dead too?!"

Selena tapped Karlia on the shoulder.

"Look around K," she advised. "We're not dead. We're back home."

"But…how…?" Karlia started.

"Leo orbed us," Philippe replied beaming with pride.

"Ok, well, thank you Leo," Selena replied. "Ok, bedtime for me."

And with that she walked towards the door of the attic.

"You're kidding right?" Philippe voiced out loud.

"Why?" Selena asked. "Why would I kid? I'm exhausted. Night night."

Philippe rushed over to her.

"Um, I think not missy!" he said boldly. "We are nowhere _near_ done for the night."

"Leo?" Selena asked, now rather pissed-off.

"He's right," Leo replied. "You two need to look up werewolves so we can be prepared when we go back."

"G-go b-back?" Karlia stammered.

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong Leo," Selena snorted. "But isn't tonight the _last_ full-moon of the month."

"No you are right Selena," Leo replied. "Which is why we need to get back there soon."

"Fine," Selena groaned as she made her way over to Karlia who had already started flipping the book.

Leo and Philippe meanwhile made their way towards the exit of the attic.

"Oh I _know_ you two are staying to help!" Selena yelled out.

"We can't Selena," Leo replied. "We have to work out how to face our own supernatural beings."

Philippe was grateful to Leo for standing up to Selena. He understood that she was exhausted and therefore would want to complain no matter what stopped her from getting to bed, but they really needed to work on how to get rid of the supernatural roadblocks that Katya had built around herself.

Once in the kitchen, Philippe turned on the kettle to make them both some coffee.

"Ah Philippe, we don't really have time for a break right now," Leo reminded.

"Oh I know," Philippe replied "I'm just making coffee for _while_ we talk. So Vampires, shoot."

Leo took a seat at the kitchen table and once again admired Philippe's dedication to the task at hand.

"Well Philippe what exactly do _you_ know about vampires?"

Philippe just glared at Leo as if to say _are-you-kidding-me?_

"Well… go on then," Leo instructed. "Dazzle me."

"Urgh," Philippe sighed.

Pouring the hot liquid into two mugs Philippe proceeded to explain all that he knew.

"Been around since the dawn of time they're immortal beings with a thirst for blood. Day light is meant to be their worst enemy. Though some can walk in it owing to special protection; others cannot step into it without dying. They turn humans by biting them and then killing them and then to complete the process when the human awakes, now as a vampire, they feed them their own blood thus completing the process. Sugar, Milk?"

Leo struggled to respond again blown away.

"Um…yes…white with 2 please," he said at last.

Philippe added the ingredients while continuing in the bored tone he had used earlier.

"This creates a special bond between the two as the vampire has now s _ired_ a new vampire. In some folklore there is an unyielding sense of needing to please the one that sired you whilst in others it doesn't really matter. Vampires can also compel humans to do things in most folklore also."

He placed Leo's mug in front of him and then sat down opposite placing his mug down also.

"The only ways to kill a vampire inc-"

"Ok, Ok!" Leo stopped him. "You are very _well versed_ in vampirism! I give, I give!"

Smiling contentedly Philippe took a sip from his own mug.

"*"

Back upstairs Selena and Karlia had devised a plan to divide and conquer. Praising the tests that Philippe had set her when it came to potions Karlia had set about making some standard ones that she now knew off by heart. Selena meanwhile had been on book-duty looking up werewolves.

"Nothing…nothing… she muttered flicking by. "Nothing… _Windigo_ , ok not exactly a _werewolf_ …nothing…nothing…"

She looked upwards.

"You know a little help would be very much appreciated!" she yelled out.

"Oh, sorry Selena," Karlia replied not seeing her look upwards. "I thought you wanted me t-"

She stopped as she noticed the pages of the book begin to move very quickly on their own.

"Whoa!"

"Yeah," Selena replied. "Didn't mean you K, back to potions. Go-go!"

As Karlia went back to what she was doing Selena waited for the book to stop turning its pages. It had been going for a while now and still nothing.

Suddenly with a loud _snap_ the book closed itself.

"What the hell?" Selena asked.

"What?" Karlia asked, though this time she didn't even look up from what she was doing.

"Well, the book sort of shut itself which isn't normal!" she whined. "Normally it stops at the page we need! LEO!"

At once Leo orbed in.

"What Selena?" he asked panicked.

"The book did its page flipping thing," she started. "But then it just closed shut! What's with that?"

Leo moved over to the book and put his hands above it. It glowed and began to flick again though this time much more quickly. One again it snapped shut.

"What does it hate us now?" Selena asked offended.

"Have we used it too much?" Karlia asked. "It could be low on battery."

"No guys," Leo frowned. "As unprecedented as this is, the book shut because werewolves…are not in the book."

"What?!" Selena screamed. "How is that even possible?"

"The girls never faced werewolves in their time," came the voice of Philippe who had raced up to the attic after Leo orbed out. "I mean Piper was a _Windigo_ but that's not exactly what we're after."

"Ok you," Selena said glaring at Philippe. "Zip it."

She then turned to Leo.

"You, what the hell do we do now?"

"Well there's the internet, there's these books here," Leo replied looking at the shelves filled with books. "Or there's the walking _witchepidia_ over there who seems to know all the answers."

As much as Selena hated how much Philippe knew, Leo was actually smiling as he said it showing he meant it as a compliment.

"Internet – too much time. Books –urgh!" Selena replied. "Ok Philippe, you're up."

Philippe gave Leo another one of the looks he had earlier, but if anything Leo's smile just increased.

"Werewolves," Philippe began through gritted teeth. "Or Lycanthropes as they are alternatively known…"

Selena rolled her eyes, while Karlia bit back a laughing attack.

Leo meanwhile continued to gaze at Philippe transfixed on the knowledge this young man had. Indeed it was as though he, himself, had jumped out of the biggest book of shadows that had ever existed.

"Are so to say humans, with the ability to transform into wolves. Often times it is because they are placed under a curse and therefore they are forced to transform under the light of the full-moon. Where as in rare occasions some werewolves can transform at will. Like with vampires…" he looked at Leo smiling before continuing.

"Werewolves also have a lust for blood. Though it is not as much as a vampire has, it does exist. The Alpha, otherwise known as the head of the pack, turns them and they are indebted to him or her no matter what, unlike vampires where the lore varies. Werewolves generally run in packs which are exclusive to other members turned by the same alpha. There are a few ways to be turned but the three most common are cursed, scratched and bitten by another. The most r-"

"Stop IT!" Selena cried out. "For one thing you are going _way_ too fast and for another, good got it you can be on wolf patrol."

"I'm more interested to know," Karlia chimed in standing very quickly. "Why Philippe kept linking wolves to vampires!"

"Really?" Selena asked spinning around quickly to face Karlia. " _That's_ what you want to know?"

"Well it is valid," Leo started.

"How?" Selena asked biting back.

" _Because Selena_ ," Philippe replied through gritted teeth. "Leo and I saw Katya and-"

"You _saw_ her?!" Karlia asked wondering how they had not said anything until now.

" _Yes Karlia_ ," Philippe replied again through gritted teeth. "And she was working with vampires."

"Ok so Werewolves _and_ Vampires?" Selena asked. "Damn this woman needs a hobby!"

"What she needs we can't give her," Karlia replied walking over to Selena and nudging her. "Am I right?"

Philippe rolled his eyes. Sure humor was a good thing, a great thing in fact. But now when they needed to get back to Katya and stop her from grabbing the emerald jewel it was so not needed.

"Ok so are we ready?" Leo asked. "There's less than 4 hours left till daylight guys!"

"Well we didn't find the werewolf in the book so no potion, what do you think?" Selena snapped.

"Karlia what potions are those?" Leo enquired, now gazing upon the ones she had finished making and corked into vials.

"Freeze, reveal, scolder and truth," Karlia replied.

Philippe couldn't help but think back to the test he had given Karlia days after she had become a member of the power of three. As Selena hated making potions and Philippe preferred research, Karlia was more than happy to make them herself but Philippe needed assurity that she could actually make them. Especially considering that one wrong ingredient or one gram over the specified amount, could easily spell disaster.

"Did you remember the sunflower seeds?" Philippe replied smiling.

When he had taken Karlia through her potions tests she had mastered freeze, reveal and scolder. But when Karlia had thrown a truth potion at him and asked what man she had met the night before, meaning Alec, Philippe had replied it was a beautiful woman with red hair and smashing stilettos. Therefore Karlia had passed the test for the others but the lack of sunflower seeds had led to failing the truth potion.

"Yes Philippe," she smiled. "A _pinch_ of sunflower seeds."

Philippe smiled satisfied turning back to Leo who continued.

"Ok combine freeze, reveal, scold and truth into 4 different vials and use that."

Karlia went straight to work.

"Selena as you suggested and you're right, Philippe will go on wolf patrol with you. Look around for one, use the potion and interrogate."

"Done and done," Selena agreed, picking up 2 of the newly created potions and tossing one to Philippe.

"Karlia and I will go back inside the mansion where we'll re-locate Katya and her…friends," he finished in disdain. "Hopefully we'll stop her from getting the jewel."

Karlia smiled at this. She had never worked alone with Leo before and was interested to see what he was like one on one. As someone who loved playing cupid she figured she may even be able to push Leo towards Philippe, or at the very least find out if they would make a good fit for each other.

"Ok then-" Leo started waving his hands to beckon them.

As with earlier, Philippe bounded towards Leo as though the first to get there would win his heart for good and wrapped his arms around Leo's middle.

Shocked as Leo was, he couldn't help but smile at this.

"Ok, I see Philippe's ready," he chuckled. "Ladies?"

As Karlia placed her hand over her mouth to muffle the laughter she once again try to hide, the girls grabbed a hold of Leo's arms and he orbed them all out of the attic.

"*"

The moment Leo orbed them back to the mansion Selena and Philippe headed back off to the woods while Leo re-orbed with Karlia back into the mansion.

"Urgh, you know I'm kind of getting sick of this whole magic thing," Selena mentioned as they walked.

"What three weeks enough for you?" Philippe laughed.

"More then," Selena replied. "I mean when are we going to have time for our normal lives?"

"We do," Philippe answered. "What your lunch date with Matt not ringing any bells? Ouch!"

As with Selena earlier, Philippe was finding out just how difficult it was to get to the wooded section of the mansion.

"Oh yeah, careful branches," Selena warned, not being able to help a little smile that appeared on her face.

"But what about everything else. We've already had to drop out of school and Karlia can't be the only one getting an income. She had to skip work tonight as it is."

Philippe reminisced about their time at school. The pair of them had signed up for a psychology course and had completed just over a year of the 3 years needed to get their degrees. However once assigned power of three status they agreed that it was no longer feasible to keep going. Neither of them worked as she'd said and Philippe had already secretly been worrying about this.

"No, she had her date with Alec tonight anyway," Philippe reminded her. "So she had already taken the night off."

"Ok, but that still leaves _us_ ," Selena reminded. "And what about love? Karlia and I seem to be finding it what about you?"

Instantly an image of the perfect life with Leo including; a white-picket fence, a huge flat-screen TV and a couch by the fire with Philippe's head in Leo's lap appeared in his mind.

He shooed it away. After all, now was not the time to be thinking about himself. And besides with personal gain being a huge worry for Philippe, what would be more personal then falling for and dating your very own white-lighter? Sure Piper did it and Philippe couldn't have been anymore happy for them then he had been, but for one thing that was the past and for another, as much as he hated to think about it, Piper, was a woman. Who knew how the elders would look down on a gay-relationship between witches and white lighters?

They might be all benevolent, but then again he couldn't help but fear them going all catholic on his ass and either taking Leo away, or worse vanquishing him for sinning.

 _No,_ Philippe thought to himself for what felt like the millionth time.

 _The Power of Three must come first._

"Don't worry about little old me," Philippe he eventually replied. "I'll be fine Selena."

"Psh-yeah," Selena mocked. "Tell that to Leo."

Philippe stopped walking, placed his hands on his hips and to ensure the elders could hear him yelled back at his friend.

"For your information there _is_ no Leo," he confirmed. "We're not together in any sense other than white lighter and charge."

"Really?" Selena replied. "I thought you liked him."

As much as it killed Philippe to not acknowledge Selena's truthful accusation, Philippe spat out the one thing that despite breaking his heart even more, he knew he had to say.

"No Selena, he's ah…not my type."

Selena frowned in confusion as the pair continued to walk. It didn't take much longer for them to get to the wooded area and now face to face with an opportunity to not discuss Leo, Philippe imagined freezing his heart before turning to Selena.

"Is this where she spotted the werewolf?" Philippe asked.

"No," Selena snarled, realizing Philippe was done talking about Leo. "It's a little further."

As Selena moved the next branch away from herself the feeling of anger switched off and the woods around her became darker than before.

She'd only had a few, but she knew now that she was having a premonition.

 _In the premonition Selena saw Karlia and Alec standing in the power-port living room while Philippe and Leo were seated on the couch and Matt was seated next to her in a chair. As Karlia kissed Alec to cheers from everyone else Selena couldn't help but smile. It was a happy premonition which was odd, but she wasn't complaining. Then once they were done kissing, Karlia announced that it was Leo and Philippe's turn and without hesitation the pair kissed to 'oooh's' 'ahhh's' and romantic whistling._

As soon as the premonition was over, Selena came back to and Philippe looked down at her nervously as she realized she was now on the ground.

"Ah, premonition?" Philippe asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Selena replied wondering how in the world she was going to spin this so as not to advise Philippe.

"*"

Back inside the mansion Karlia and Leo were walking as quickly as they could towards the room where Leo had spotted Katya earlier. This proved to be very difficult as they had to be extra quiet considering that there were now beings with superior hearing working with her.

"Ok here's the stairs," Leo whispered remembering the black rail and the golden finish. "So when we last saw her she was just down there."

The pair slowly made their way down the stairs, but unlike last time there came no noise at all from the room on the right.

"I don't think anyone's in there," Karlia said.

Leo rubbed his chin clearly in thought.

"Well that's where she was," he replied.

"Can't you like sense her or something?" Karlia asked recalling how he had been able to sense things in his past.

"Not with demons I can't," Leo replied. "Only with witches or innocents."

"Innocents…" Karlia mused. "Wow, been a while since I heard that word."

"Don't say that too loudly," Leo replied. "They'll be back in need very soon."

Karlia rolled her eyes, turned on her heel and marched off towards the left. Leo followed her. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to help the innocent but more that it would disrupt the life she now had. Now that she was looking towards settling down with Alec life was looking good. When she added in the fact that she was looking at a promotion at work to become manager, even better. But when they took so much of her life away that she hadn't even had a chance to inform Philippe and Selena of this she knew it was going to become the norm to put her life on pause for potentially the rest of her life.

On and on the mansion went. They passed by a beautiful living area with mahogany floors and old fashion styled couches all of which were not to Karlia's taste at all.

"Bit old fashioned isn't it?" she asked, turning her nose up. "Glad I don't live here."

"Philippe loved it!" Leo replied. "Said it was like being invited to see the Queen!"

"Yeah well I'm no royalist," Karlia replied. "Besides I thought Philippe would prefer something a little darker than this. All it is, is Pink, Pink, Pink! Urgh, get with the times people!"

But she couldn't help but smile at Leo mentioning her friends name.

They passed into the next room which turned out to be a bedroom. In Karlia's opinion this was much nicer. The floors were still the same mahogany shade as before, however a gorgeous four poster bed lay against the middle of the wall on one side, facing a 120 inch flat screen TV. The bed lay on a raised platform compared to the rest of the room while a raised white ceiling and arched windows with heavy red drapes completed the look.

"And this…" Karlia announced, not being able to help herself as she flopped onto the bed. "Is where you guys would find me once you were done with her royal highness. I just need the remote."

She looked around but couldn't find it anywhere. Looking up she noticed Leo frowning at her.

"Ok come on buzz-kill," she spat, quickly jumping off the bed and flattening the now creased sheets. "Just because you didn't find this place with Philippe!"

"Philippe?!" Leo questioned. "What's he got to do with this room?"

"You know," Karlia rolled her eyes. "Boudoir…you and Philippe…"

But Leo didn't respond or even have any reaction other than a confused look on his face. Karlia's eyes widened when she realized he had no idea what she was on about.

As though to keep up their pace, Leo hastened towards the exit.

"So…there is no you and Philippe?" she asked as she quickly walked to catch up with him.

"Honestly," Leo replied. "Don't tell anyone, I was kind of hoping there would be but…"

"But what?" Karlia asked frustrated.

From what little she had observed the pair would make a perfect match. Leo was generous, attractive, kind and well a literal angel. Philippe being informative, cunning and furiously lovable, made the pair in Karlia's mind.

"Well, I don't think he likes me," Leo smiled. "Guess I'm just not his type."

Leo smiled quickly and the pair pushed open the door to the next room which was a study decked out in nothing but matching mahogany.

"Not his type?" Karlia pressed. "Then pray tell why he dreamed about you? And not white lighter you, but _boyfriend_ you."

Karlia recalled waking up early that morning to Philippe mumbling something and so had peeked into his room. She could easily make our the lovey-dovery coo of Philippe mumbling _'Leo…leo…'._

Leo, who was looking at an old file on the study's mahogany desk, whirled around.

"What?" he asked curiously. "He dreamed about me?"

Karlia noticed the small spots of red colour in his cheeks and so she continued.

"Oh yeah," she replied casually. "One of the perks of sleeping next door to a man that talks in his sleep."

Leo beamed. Maybe there was a chance, even a remote one in making something happen between them after all. He had been so sure that Philippe wasn't interested. After all there were just so many signs. But if he was dreaming about him, maybe Freud's suggestion that dreams are the unconscious desires, held some faith for the white lighter.

"So, what you got there?" Karlia asked, noticing the file Leo was looking at moments ago.

"Oh," Leo replied shaking his head quickly and looking back at the file. "It's a file on Bloodworth, I was hoping it may lead us t-"

"YOU SAID IT WOULD BE HERE!" came a loud scream from somewhere very nearby. "IF WE DON'T FIND IT BY TONIGHT IT WILL BE GONE, DO YOU GET THAT?!"

"O…K…," Karlia replied to no one in particular. "Guess we found Katya."

"*"

Back at the woods Selena and Philippe heard a noise coming from somewhere off in the darkened trees.

"Ah, Selena…" Philippe started warily. "What was that?"

"Sounded the same as before," Selena said. "Werewolf?"

"I don't know," Philippe replied. "I wasn't here with you!"

Selena was startled by his response, but decided to shelve her reaction for a later time.

"Ok so how to lure it out?" Selena wondered. "Any ideas?"

Philippe smiled. He had a few.

" _Here wolfie, wolfie, wolfie_ ," he cooed.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Selena replied. "You're basically saying ' _come bite us cute puppy'_ , I don't know about you but I don't exactly _want_ to be bitten!"

"Ok well I have another idea," Philippe confessed even more warily then before. "But you're not going to like it."

He knew Selena would hate what he was about to do. Freak out at worst, but at most probably hit him and call for Leo, which was all he needed right now.

"Just do it and do it fast," Selena replied. "The sooner we deal with _it_ the sooner we can leave. Besides, the sun will be up soon."

Philippe didn't need telling twice, especially since she had now granted him permission. So without a moment's hesitation he took an atheme out of his pocket.

"What in the world?" Selena asked. "How'd y-"

But before she could go any further Philippe quickly sliced a shallow cut along his arm. It wasn't too deep but from the cut blood poured out instantly.

"What the hell?!" Selena demanded. "Philippe, what are you doing?"

"It's called bait Selena," Philippe replied walking slowly towards the wolf with his arm down allowing the blood to drip.

"Yeah but-" Selena started. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Instantly smelling the blood, the werewolf came charging at them. Fortunately Philippe was ready for this and quickly extended his fingers, freezing the animal.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" Selena scolded.

"You said to do whatever I needed to do," Philippe replied taking out the vials from earlier. "Are you going to throw or am I?" he asked.

"This thing is HUGE," Selena replied still in shock over Philippe's barbaric act. "Let's both throw one each."

"On three," Philippe instructed having no idea when his freeze would wear off.

"One…two…three!"

Selena and Philippe threw a vial each at the werewolf who instantly unfroze and then owing to the potion started changing back into a human. The wolf started roaring out so loud, Philippe feared it would alert Katya. But almost too soon it turned back into an all naked man who screamed out at the top of his lungs.

"Oh yeah," Philippe recalled back to his readings. "I forgot they're naked when then transform back."

Selena meanwhile said nothing.

Philippe looked at her and assuming she was in shock turned back to the wolf.

"Ok, we're not going to hurt you," he said trying to sound authoritative although failing miserably as he shook with every step he took. "Here's a jacket, put it on."

And removing his own jacket, Philippe flung it at the human.

Once he'd put it on, the human turned around to face them and Philippe froze him instantly. He was just about to instruct Selena on what to do next, when he noticed she still hadn't moved.

"Ok Selena… hello!" He called out racing back over to her. "Look I know this is all weird and everything, but we need to keep going. Come on!"

He yanked at her arm to pull her closer to the wolf-now-human. But Selena stood her ground, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Selena, the sun is coming up soon like you said come-" Philippe started.

"Philippe," Selena interrupted him trembling. "Th-th-that's Matt!"

"*"

 _Bet you didn't expect that huh?_

 _So now Selena has to not only deal with Matt by finding out what he's up to, but she also has to deal with the fact that he's a wolf and in league with Katya._

 _So what did you think of the chapter? How do you think Matt being a wolf will affect Selena? Do you think Philippe can sort out his issues with loving Leo? Do you think Selena's premonition will come true? And what will happen now that Karlia and Leo have found Katya?_

 _Please leave a review and let me know._

 **Next time on the Power of Three:** _While_ _Selena is forced to come face-to-face with Matt being a werewolf…_

 _(Selena): "Difficult?!, No difficult is knowing you've lost a grand and a half on tuition because you're a power of three member!"_

 _(Philippe, whining): "Leo…help."_

 _(Leo): "Selena-"_

 _(Selena): "He's my date Leo!"_

 _Karlia gets her first face-to-face with the demon Katya._

 _(Katya, menacingly): "So which witch are you?"_

 _(Karlia): "Think you're ready to take on the Power of Three?"_

 _(Katya, impressed): "Maybe if we knew each other during that 24 hour window…"_

 _(Karlia): "Yeah I don't think so…you're nothing but a crappy d-"_

 _And Philippe comes face-to-face with Matt…and Leo._

 _(Matt, nicely): "Witch?"_

 _(Philippe, smiling): "Yeah and trust me, a neutral one when it comes to wolves."_

 _(Leo): "Let's get him back to the Power Port-"_

 _(Philippe, snapping): "He's a wolf Leo! He's not going to die from ultra-rays!"_

 _But it's what Karlia's about to go through that will take the story to another level yet again._

 _(Katya, to someone): "Oh Constant! Constant!"_

 _(Karlia): "You have got to be kidding me! What the hell are you doing?!"_

 _BEAT-BEAT-BEAT-BEAT…..WHAT-DID-KARLIA-SEE?_

 _All new Power of Three next week._


	5. Chapter 5: This is their fault

_Hey Guys and welcome to a very magical week for me._

 _Magical in that it's my third-decade birthday week (Yay!)._

 _So this week as a birthday treat from me to you, I'm going to upload two chapters! That's right, double the fun!_

 _Wiccancharmedguy – Yes it's interesting that the book continues to flip on its own isn't it? We may find out more about that soon. I'm glad you love the idea of making Leo gay. I will say we'll discover more in the next 2 chapters about him and Philippe. Regarding bringing any of the former charmed ones back it's a possibility for sure. You'll just have to keep reading. Thanks for your review._

 _Mirzaisnow- Thank you for your review I'm so glad you are loving the story and the length of the chapters. Yes it was fun to write about Selena and Kung-Fu Panda (Natalie). Yes her dry sense of character and humor are still portrayed in this book, I'm glad you picked up on that hehe._

 _Mazed4U- Yes it will not be easy on Selena (regarding matt being a wolf) I agree. It's something that she'll have to decide where she stands now. As for Leo and Philippe, yes they were together in the series I lost. Happily engaged and nearly married. No the complication of Philippe's fears with the elders were not present before they got together, this is something new I'm adding. Well Selena has premonitions for a reason. You'll have to read on to see if it comes true._

 _Ok so back we go to the mansion where Karlia and Leo are about to locate Katya…_

 **The Power of Three – A Lover's Day/Night.**

 **CHAPTER FIVE – This is** _ **their**_ **fault!**

Back inside the mansion Karlia and Leo raced towards the screams that were continuing to come from outside the room. As they walked into the next room they noticed a spiral staircase that lead down to what would undoubtedly be a huge basement.

"No prizes for suspecting where she is," Karlia remarked.

"Yep, definitely in the basement," Leo replied.

As they were walking towards the stairs Karlia noticed that Leo had picked up the files from the office. The ones that had belonged to Bloodworth.

"What do you need those for?" she asked curiously pointing them out.

"I'm figure they may have some detailed info on Bloodworth and may even mention the jewel somehow," Leo replied.

Not thinking much more of it Karlia continued walking and very quickly and quietly made her way down the stairs.

"YOU IDIOT!" came a voice that could only be a pissed-off Katya. "HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME TO HAVE THE POWER NOW?!"

"I…" came a stammering voice. "I'm sorry your eminence. I thought-"

By now Karlia and Leo had a very clear view of the pair. Katya looked exactly the same as Karlia remembered. Tall, olive tanned skin, blonde curled hair and a form-fitting two piece outfit combined with what appeared to be red felt and black leather. The trembling voice had come from the older gentleman Leo had seen with Philippe earlier.

"That's one of the guys I saw with her earlier," he advised Karlia.

"Definitely a vampire," Karlia whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

The man was pale as a ghost, made up with black eyeliner and even black eye shadow to boot. Dressed in an all-black leather jacket and matching leather pants it was hard for her not to notice what he was and once she added in the long brown hair that only seemed fashionable decades ago she became more than certain.

"Clearly not hard enough," Katya spat at the vampire. "The lore clearly states that the person who wields the power must _not_ be the one who took it from its resting place! So where exactly does that leave me?!"

"What lore?" Karlia asked confused.

"Long story short," Leo whispered. "The gods put a nifty little curse on the jewel so as to not attract thieves. So anyone that takes the jewel first will not be affected by its power but the person they hand it to will."

"Ooooh," Karlia replied. "Smart people those gods."

Leo chuckled quietly.

"Yes they were."

"I…I'd…" the man was clearly trembling in fear. "…rather not answer that your eminence."

"A wise move Ettore," Katya replied.

"Ettore…Ettore…" Leo mumbled thinking hard.

"Is this a Mombasa moment, or do you actually know of him?" she asked skeptically, wondering why he wouldn't have said anything if he knew anything at all about the vampires.

Leo turned quickly to Karlia.

"You know what this means right?" he rushed.

"Not exactly," Karlia frowned. "I mean ok demon woman looses, emerald jewel remains safe, but Ettore…? Not ringing any bells."

"Forget Ettore," Leo replied quite seriously. "Remember she just took the jewel from its resting place…"

"So she doesn't have the power," Karlia replied as it dawned on her. "But if I…"

Leo just smiled and nodded.

" _Leo!...Leo!..."_ rang through the white lighters ears. Clearly Philippe needed him.

"Say no more," Karlia smiled.

"I won't," Leo replied quickly. "Besides Philippe and Selena need me. Can you handles this on your own?"

"A demon who can do nothing but morph?" Karlia nearly laughed. "Go Leo, I'm fine."

Agreeing that Karlia could handle this on her own Leo quickly orbed out of the mansion and headed for the woods.

Karlia meanwhile was very quick to do what was necessary. She jumped out from where they were spying and walked quickly into the room arm outstretched.

"Emerald Jewel!" she yelled out.

Instantly the Jewel flew from Katya's hands into her own.

"Nooooooooo!" Katya screamed.

But her screaming was drowned out as Karlia was illuminated in a mixture of dark and light green while the sound of a fierce wind filled the room. The force of the light levitated her several feet off the ground and before she knew what hit her Karlia was spinning quickly as though trapped in a tornado. From the ground Katya saw the witches eyes momentarily turn black, while Ettore sprinted out of the room. Not much later, Karlia landed nice and softly back on her feet.

Despite feeling sick as she spun, the moment she landed a complete sense of confidence and euphoria filled her up so much so that she almost flew straight at Katya.

"It's a bad day to be a demon!" she warned darkly.

"*"

"What, what?" Leo asked Philippe anxiously. "I just left Karlia battling K-"

He stopped dead when he noticed the almost naked man standing in front of him.

"Philippe?" Leo smiled. "Do something you've regretted and need to confess?"

He knew Philippe hadn't and could even tell by the stench that this was one of the wolves they were after. But that wasn't going to stop Leo from having a little bit of fun.

"Wha-…Leo!" Philippe replied hitting the white lighter. "That's the werewolf! Or shall I say Matt!"

"Matt…matt…?" Leo pondered before it hit him all at once. "Selena's Matt?!"

"Yes Leo!" Selena replied taking momentary leave from her date's side to approach him. "How in the world do you, correction _they_ expect me to be able to deal with this if it's him?!"

"Selena, you-" Leo started, before noticing Matt unfreeze. "Philippe!"

"Oh-my-god!" Philippe rushed before refreezing the man.

"Leo!" Philippe whined. "Help."

"Ok," Leo replied. "Philippe tie him up and begin the interrogation while I discuss this with Selena."

"Urgh!...fine!" Philippe relented, wanting to do nothing less at that point.

Tying him up wasn't going to be too hard at all especially since the man was frozen. But what would he tie him too? Let alone with? Branches certainly wouldn't hold the strength of a werewolf.

Just then as though the elders themselves heard his thoughts a chair appeared in a swirl of white and blue lights and on it was a huge bundle of different sized ropes.

"Oh," Philippe replied looking upwards. "Ah, thanks guys."

Quickly he grabbed the ropes and tossed them to the floor before grabbing Matt and in a freeze-by-movement way eventually sat him in the chair.

 _Thank god I can freeze_ Philippe thought to himself. _Guy weighs a ton. Hope Selena knows what she's doing._

Philippe grabbed the rope and using it all, successfully tied Matt to the chair.

Meanwhile Selena and Leo were bickering quite loudly.

"But he's _my_ date Leo!" Selena yelled. "My date, my rules!"

"That's only with houses Selena," Leo replied trying very hard not to laugh at this serious matter. "Besides he's a werewolf, what if he attacks you?"

"He won't!" Selena replied. "He loves m-…"

But she realized Leo was right.

How could she know if he was going to spring off the chair and rip her to shreds?

Sure he was an attractive guy with cologne that made her swoon. Sure he was easy to get along with and he had good taste in restaurants, but really, what else did she know about him? And if he was willing to keep being a werewolf a secret all this time, what else did he have hidden from her?

As great as he was, she knew in that moment, she had to come face to face with reality.

"You know what?" she started. "You're right. I have no idea what he'll do."

Leo sighed in relief.

"Selena, I know this must be difficult for you," he started.

"Difficult?" Selena replied. "No difficult is knowing you've lost a good grand and a half on tuition because you're a power of three member. Difficult is when Karlia forgets to pick up milk after work and so there is no way to make coffee in the house. Difficult is talking to Philippe moments after he has woken up! This is not difficult Leo! This is…"

She looked towards the heavens realizing everything at once.

If there was anyone that wanted this to happen it would be them wouldn't it? The ones who had destroyed her life and turned her into something she never wanted to begin with. The ones that made a show that she watched for entertainment a reality that stopped her own! Yes indeed, this was…

"… _their_ fault!"

She pointed upwards showing Leo she was referring to the elders.

"They were so pissed off with me having a tiny hour or two to have a life with this guy and now they're punishing me for not putting the power of three first!"

"Selena," Leo soothed.

"Don't Leo," she replied. "Just don't ok?"

"Ok Selena," Leo replied. "Just know that the elders don't create werewolves. They're a completely different species to you guys or even demons for that matter."

"Urgh! Fine whatever," Selena grunted. "Stick up for them. If I recall you always did even when Piper got upset with them."

Thinking about it quickly, she realized maybe this was one of the reasons Philippe was so afraid to commit to this guy.

"Selena that w-" Leo started.

"The last we'll mention _them_ for a while?" Selena questioned. "Good. Now tell me Leo, what exactly do we need to get out of him?"

"*"

"Heeee-ya!" Karlia exclaimed as she aimed a well-timed kick at Katya.

Despite the force pushing her backwards Katya simply pushed one of her feet backwards and kicked-off from the wall as though this was the most normal thing she had ever done in her life, landing easily back on her feet.

"Stupid witch," She smiled. "You'd think the old generation would have prepared you for me. I am an expert in martial-arts."

"Ah…" Karlia trembled. "Old generation?"

"Of course my dear," Katya replied. "One can't crumble empires and destroy cities without having someone on the inside."

She smiled knowing Karlia was frozen with shock.

"So which witch are you?" she asked as casually as though asking about the weather. "My guess, power to orb, you must be the new Paige!"

Karlia nodded wondering how Katya knew all this.

"Mmm yes," Katya continued now getting very close to Karlia. "Trouble maker that one. Just like you. Vanquished me with a simple potion."

She then whispered into Karlia's ear.

"Between you and I, the other two were useless. Spent hours trying to vanquish me and nothing. Paige needed but a moment."

"Bet she took good care of you!" Karlia replied.

"MMM yes, but my dear," Katya continued. "Being vanquished is one thing. Coming back with the knowledge of everything that lead to your demise is, well quite another."

"Oh yeah?" Karlia replied trying to remain on the offence. "Think you're ready to take out the power of three now huh?"

Katya who had been strolling slowly away from Karlia turned quickly to face her.

"What whit!" she complimented. "Maybe if we knew each other during that 24 hour window we'd be taking on the world together."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Karlia replied. "Fashion sense aside, your nothing but a crappy demon who w-".

But Katya interrupted her.

"Hold your tongue!" she cried, before going right back to her soothing voice. "You must be exhausted after the day you've had today. No matter…"

With that she reached into her pocket and pulled out some dust before blowing it directly into Karlia's face.

The affect was instant. One moment Karlia was standing there ready to kill Katya and the next the world around her faded to black.

"*"

Back in the woods Philippe unfroze Matt and quickly jumped in before he could even have a chance to say anything.

"Ok dude," he said. "Talk."

Matt looked bizarre in nothing but Philippe's black trench coat and emotionally he seemed caught somewhere between shock, pain and anger.

He didn't say anything, but tried very hard to get free. On instinct Philippe froze him again.

"Urgh!" he cried. "At least freezing allows me to do the whole _Lee_ method."

The _Lee_ method as Philippe called it was a method made famous by a TV show character called Teri Lee. A lawyer's assistant who had once informed her boss how she dealt with an over-bearing person who grinded her gears and yet she had to remain professional around.

The advice had been to think the words _bite-me_ and then calmly respond. Philippe wasn't able to be that quick and so having the power to freeze allowed him to get his anger out and then unfreeze thus creating his own _Lee_ method.

"If you just answer me we can move on!" he yelled out, before taking a breath and kneeling down to look up at the man.

Philippe unfroze him and looked calmly into his eyes while the words _bite me_ raced through his mind.

"Matt I don't want to hurt you," he said kindly. "I know you need to be loyal to your pack. I know you're not in control when you turn and trust me I will keep your secret. I just need to know… what does the bad demon want?"

Matt looked into Philippe's eyes, and an almost calmness seem to come over his.

"Witch?" he asked simply.

"Yeah," Philippe conceded. "And trust me, a neutral one when it comes to wolves."

Matt starred at Philippe looking him directly in the eyes. Philippe did not flinch and in fact sat still waiting for any type of response.

"I believe you," he said at last.

"Then tell me Matt," Philippe said slowly. "What does Katya want the emerald jewel for?"

"She-" Matt started, then physically struggling stopped. "I can't…I can't! Trust me I want to but I can't."

Philippe froze him instantly and looked pityingly at the man.

"Oh my god," he sighed, feeling for the man. "You've been compelled."

Compulsion was something that Philippe knew vampires could do. It allowed them to control what people did in any situation they chose. Whether it was to have them kill, forget something that happened or like in this case stop them from revealing information.

Philippe felt sorry for Matt. Werewolf stuff aside he actually seemed like a good guy. Philippe was not one to judge and especially since his research had shown wolves to be neutral to the good vs evil race, Philippe had no issue with wolves whatsoever. In fact the more he learned about them, the more he liked them.

"Philippe," Selena started coming up from behind him. "Philippe, why is he frozen?"

"Ah Selena," Philippe started standing to talk to her. "I hate to be _that guy_ but um, Matt's been compelled."

"Com-what?" Selena asked confused.

"Compelled," Philippe confirmed. "It's when vampires use mind control to ensure a human will do something."

Out of the corner of his eye, Philippe saw Leo smile once again.

This brought up how much he was struggling with his feelings for the guy. He loved that he impressed Leo with all the knowledge he had gained, but he couldn't help but go back to that thought of exactly what the elders would do if he even kissed the guy.

 _But that kind heart,_ Philippe yearned. _The dependency…that face!_

Philippe shook his head violently erasing the thoughts that seemed to have compelled him. There was no time to think about Leo and the long pros and cons list he had already begun. This was about Selena and Matt.

"It must have been one of the vampires that Leo and I saw in the mansion," Philippe finished looking at Selena with sympathy.

"Sun's coming up," Leo replied, reminding Selena he was back there.

 _Interrupting a private moment,_ Philippe thought to himself. _Definite con!_

"Ok?" Philippe questioned. "So? He's a wolf Leo, he's not going to die from a few ultra-rays!"

Leo was moments away from blasting back at Philippe. Enough was enough after all. But before Leo could respond Matt unfroze.

"Let's get him back to the Power-Port," Leo suggested. "We'll have more luck there."

All three huddled around a very surprised Matt as Leo orbed them all back to the one place he knew they would be the safest.

"*"

The first thing Karlia noticed was how dark it was, the room was freezing and she couldn't help but shiver in the darkened coldness of it all. But where exactly was she? Her knees scraped against what felt like an asphalted floor and Karlia winced in pain.

The last she recalled she had taken the emerald jewel from Katya and was about to engage in a battle with her.

 _Katya!_ she thought to herself instantly. _She's done this!_

Slowly she stood up being careful to steady herself as by now she felt rather giddy. She had just enough time to bump her head onto something cold and rustic making her wince as an ominous voice could be heard in the darkness.

"Oh look, Blondie's awake."

"Wha-?" Karlia started dazed, in pain and still confused. "What did you do to me?"

"Well dear, the jewel you acquired makes you almost too powerful to handle," Katya replied pausing only to click her fingers illuminating wooden torches set in their holders around the perimeter of the room. "And we couldn't have that now could we?"

All at once Karlia could tell she had been trapped inside a metal crisscrossed barred cage.

"What is this thing?!" Karlia demanded.

"It's a cage my dear," Katya explained as though describing how to cook pancakes to a child.

She walked, though Karlia would more accurately describe it as pranced, over to the cage and lightly touched it caressing it as though in awe.

"Forged from old magic you know," she continued. "Magic can get in, but no magic can get out."

She smiled evilly.

"If the source knew I had this she would have my head," Katya smiled. "But no matter, I have ultimate protection now."

"Yeah some wolves and vampires," Karlia retorted. "How lovely… _dear_."

Though Karlia expected a reaction out of the demon, whether to the revelation that they knew about her so-called protection or even to the mockery, she was bitterly disappointed.

"The wolves are merely guards," Katya laughed. "But I am the first demon to work with and actually believe in vampuric abilities and let me tell you there is nothing more advantageous than working with someone who wants blood even more than a demon."

With that Katya turned and made her way towards the exit. At the last moment she whirled around and looked at Karlia.

"You know I'd love to stay and chat dear," she said. "But frankly, you're beginning to bore me."

She opened the door and called out to someone.

"Oh Constant, Constant!" she called.

A man that Karlia couldn't see replied to her.

"There you are," Katya replied happily. "I have a meal for you, fresh and ready to go."

She turned to face Karlia one last time.

"You'll find her escape…impossible."

With that she gave one last smile to Karlia and then strode out of the room leaving Karlia alone.

The sound of footsteps came increasingly closer and Karlia feared for the worst.

 _So that was Katya's plan all along?_ She thought. _Kill or turn the power of three, whichever came first._

Admittedly it was a good plan, a smart plan, a very safe plan. But considering Karlia was one of those members and that escape would be futile she freaked out more and more with the sound of each step.

But just when she thought she could freak out no more, the steps came to a stop as Constant entered the room.

" _Nice!"_ she heard him hiss as he took in every bit of her.

 _No,_ Karlia thought to herself. _It can't be. It just can't._

But there was no denying it. The closer he got to her the more she was able to confirm her suspicions.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Karlia screamed out. "Alec, what the hell are you doing?!"

"*"

 _And that's the end of the chapter. So what do you all think?_

 _Not only is Matt one of the werewolves but Alec is one of the vampires!_

 _I wonder what will happen. Will Selena be turned into a werewolf? Will Karlia be turned into a vampire? Will any of them request to be turned?_

 _Time will tell…_

 _But for now it's time for the next chapter. So head on over there's much more to come…_


	6. Chapter 6: Time for dinner

_Hey Guys Chapter 6 time which means we are now over half way!_

 _I am so sorry about the delay; I am usually very reliable with publishing on Monday evenings (AEST) however this week has just been incredibly busy. I can assure you that the next chapter will be up this Monday._

 _Hope you are all enjoying the story so far and thanks again for all of your comments._

 **The Power of Three – A Lover's Day/Night.**

 **CHAPTER SIX – Time for dinner.**

 **Previously on the power of three:**

 _(Karlia): "Emerald Jewel!"_

 _(Katya): "Noooooo!"_

 _(Leo): "Selena's Matt?!"_

 _(Selena): "Yes Leo! My date, my rules!"_

 _(Leo): "I know this must be difficult for you."_

 _(Selena): "Difficult?! This is their fault!"_

 _(Katya): "So which witch are you? My guess the new Paige!"_

 _(Karlia): "Bet she took good care of you."_

 _(Katya): "What whit!"_

 _(Matt): "Witch?"_

 _(Philippe): "Yeah and neutral when it comes to wolves." "Oh my god, you've been compelled."_

 _(Karlia): "What is this thing?"_

 _(Katya): "It is a cage. Magic can get in, but no magic can get out." "Oh Constant! You'll find her escape impossible."_

 _(Karlia): "Alec? What the hell are you doing?!"_

Deep in the Power-Port basement Philippe struggled with what to tell Matt when he unfroze.

It was just like Leo to muck everything up. Aside from being their cosmic taxi per-se he had done nothing to assist their quest in finding Katya and if anything had only gotten in the way.

Looking around nervously Philippe spied the Wiccan sabbat calendar that his friend Nick had printed out for fun last year. It was amazing to think of how far he had come since that moment and he couldn't help but wonder what Nick would have to say now if he could reveal his secret to him.

As it was, Nick was already quite upset with Philippe for continuing to cancel on him at the last minute every time they planned to catch-up. It wasn't as though Philippe had wanted to do this, but every time he was moments away from leaving the house a 'power of three' emergency had risen. Naturally Philippe couldn't tell Nick the real reason he needed to cancel and so every excuse seemed to become more and more lame each time.

Recalling these moments Philippe made a mental note to not only consider Selena's objection to not having a normal life, but also to call Nick soon. After all who knew when the next demon would attack?

Just then Matt unfroze.

"I'm so so-" Matt began, continuing to finish what he had started before he had been frozen.

But noting the change of scenery stopped himself right away, glaring at Philippe.

"Neutral huh?" he spat. "If you're so neutral, what am I doing here?!"

This was all Philippe needed right now, but he knew Matt deserved an honest answer.

"Ok Matt," he began. "Honestly it wasn't my decision to bring you here, but I have to admit you are safer here then out there."

"Where am I?" Matt asked, still glaring.

"You're at my house," Philippe replied. "The Pow-…The basement of my home."

Philippe mentally praised himself for not saying 'power port' to Matt. Somehow he didn't think it would go down well if he used those words. Once again he crouched down talking quite calmly to the wolf.

"Matt, I truly am sorry for well…" he looked at Matt fully taking in the bound ropes, the jacket and the dark room. "…all of this. We just need to know what we can about Katya and then in my opinion, we can let you go."

"Don't you trust me?" Matt asked quizzically. "If you're neutral to my kind, my pack and everything else, why can't you untie me and let me get dressed?"

"Because I answer to a…higher power," Philippe finished lamely.

Surprisingly Matt actually nodded knowingly.

"I get it," he replied. "I'd do the same if my leader told me to."

"Matt please," Philippe pleaded. "Just tell me what I need to know."

"I told you…you…what's your name again?"

"Oh," Philippe replied, realizing he had never said. "I'm Philippe, Philippe Thompson."

He made to hold out his hand, but then drew it back a moment later realizing Matt wouldn't be able to shake it, being bound and all. But Matt who didn't seem to notice looked deep in thought, like he was trying to remember something.

"Philippe…Philippe," he pondered.

Then like a light bulb it hit him.

"Wait, Selena's friend?" he asked, recalling her mentioning him a few times.

"Best friend," Philippe corrected. "More like brother from another mother."

"Wait," Matt interjected. "If you're Selena's friend and she lives with you…where is she?"

"Oh good point," Philippe replied. "She's upstairs with Le-… another friend of ours trying to work out…about the Gem. Why don't you just tell me what Katya wants and then you can go see her?"

"I told you," Matt sighed. "I can't. I really, really want to. I feel like I can trust you but I've-"

"Been compelled I forgot," Philippe mumbled.

"What was that?" Matt asked, not hearing him at all.

"Ah nothing," Philippe replied. "Matt, considering you trust me, as you should, do you mind if I try a little magic? I've never tried it before but maybe I can find a way to allow you to talk."

"If it works and allows me to see Selena," Matt replied. "Of course. I feel so embarrassed and she must have so many-"

"Ye-ah," Philippe remarked freezing him instantly.

"No offence bud," he said to the frozen man. "But I don't need the whole story K?"

Then standing in front of Matt, Philippe raised his arms out in front of himself once more.

 _What once was bound, must now be broken_

 _Sever the ties may the truth be spoken._

Immediately Matt unfroze.

"Questions to…ask…me," Matt finished as white orbs floated around him and then flew directly into his eyes forcing him to gasp and blink several times.

"I'm sure she does," Philippe replied smiling as the orbs disappeared. "So let's try just this once shall we…for Selena…why does Katya want wolves and vampires?"

"She..." Matt started, but then stopped momentarily surprised he could talk freely. "Wow, good spell."

"I know," Philippe replied. "Got to love magic, continue."

"She told us that she wanted to recruit wolves and vampires to protect her as we're the best protection out there."

 _Ok_ Philippe thought to himself. _Surely there is much better protection then those two creatures._

"But why did your pack decide to help her?" Philippe pushed.

"She offered us a chance to come back into the fold of evil, to work with her and no longer be alone. Her plan was to unite us with the source once all of this was over."

"*"

Back upstairs in the living room the sun was slowly rising and Leo was showing Selena the files he had procured from Bloodworth mansion.

"This is amazing!" Selena cried out, looking up from what she was reading. "Listen to this: _Radwick Bloodworth aged 79 who died last spring was gifted with many talents including the gift to see into the future. Many respected his gift including yours truly who was quite boldly advised of my career in the media._ He had the gift of sight? Was he a-?"

"Witch?" Leo interjected. "No. But he was a psychic. As the article said he was well respected for it."

Selena smiled, placing the article into her well-organized 'read' pile and picked up a bit of parchment from the 'unread' pile that looked quite old. The edges were worn and the writing was clearly done with a quill and ink.

" _Bloodworth family oath_ ," Selena read intrigued. " _No one will betray our secret lest they die a painfully excruciating death!_ Um ok…" she sounded-off shocked at the penalty.

"Things were more dramatic back then," Leo replied laughing slightly.

"Clearly," Selena acknowledged.

"For example," Leo continued. "A woman who spoke back to a man was tried before the court and potentially beheaded."

Selena's eyes widened at this bit of news.

"Boy am I glad to be a woman in _this_ century," she replied.

"Yep," Leo agreed. "Despite what people say, equality has evolved greatly over the years."

"Ok," Selena chimed-in. "No need for the sister-suffragette speech; I get enough from Philippe thank you."

"Selena," Leo replied slightly offended. "As a woman you should actually appreciate what it is these women have done!"

"Have," Selena replied dismissively. "Have and moved on. Ok next…."

Placing the offending family-oath into the 'read' pile, Selena picked up another bit of old parchment from the 'unread' pile and nearly dropped it at once. Feeling excitement rise in her she turned to Leo.

"Oh my god," she said." This is it…look!"

She stood up and walked over to Leo allowing him to look at the parchment as she read.

" _The Emerald Gemstone_ ," she read before scrunching up her nose trying to make out the rest. "Skizhock…kwa-owed…est…la piece?... Leo!"

Leo chuckled slightly and took the parchment from Selena.

" _Scis hoc, quod est lapis, sed in virtue magna_ ," he read fluently.

"Yeah, easy when you've been around a million years," Selena retorted.

"It's Latin Selena," Leo smiled. "Basically it's saying _'Though it's a stone it holds the power of the great ocean. R-_ "

"Great Ocean?" Selena freaked. "Oh my god don't tell me Ursala from the little mermaid is going to come after us!"

"What and preach about how you're all 'poor unfortunate souls'?" Leo quipped.

"Stupid question, stupid answer," Selena mumbled. "Go on."

"Actually," Leo replied. "I think we should get Philippe, it'd be good for both of you to hear this."

Selena agreed and peeling herself up from the couch followed Leo in-toe to the basement.

"Which makes sense," Philippe could be heard saying to Matt.

"What makes sense?" Selena smiled warmly.

"Selena!" Matt cried out, before realizing once again that he was barely covered-up. "Oh…um…Philippe, could you…?"

He looked down at himself making an obvious indication.

"Oh," Philippe replied. "Of course, Selena turn around, a little decorum yeah?"

Selena turned and noting an old bed sheet nearby picked it up and thrust it out behind her. Philippe took the sheet and covered Matt up as best he could.

"Thanks," the wolf replied kindly.

"Can I turn around now?" Selena asked coyly, almost saddened that he felt the need to cover-up.

"Yep," Philippe replied. "He's good now."

As Selena turned around Leo let out a painful howl.

"Argh!" he cried almost doubling-over in pain.

"Leo!" Philippe cried, racing to his side. "What is it? Darklighter?"

"Better not be!" Selena demanded. "One evil at a time!"

"It's not," Leo cried out through the pain. "It's Karlia, she's in trouble."

Philippe made to grab his coat from Matt, but then realizing just how much more exposed he would be decided to leave it where it was and turned back to Leo.

"Ok let's get going."

"What about Matt?" Leo cried out.

"I've got him," Selena replied.

Philippe looked at her as if to say _I bet you do!_

"What?" she asked. "He's covered and all."

But Philippe didn't look convinced.

"Seriously Philippe, Karlia's in trouble go!"

At that Philippe realized she was right and raced directly to Leo.

"Got enough energy to orb us there?" he asked.

"Always," Leo replied clutching his stomach.

Philippe grabbed onto Leo's shoulder not wanting to worsen the pain he was clearly in.

"Any issues-" he motioned towards Selena.

"I'll holler," she replied. "Now go!"

And with that Leo orbed the two of them back to the mansion.

"*"

Back at the mansion Karlia was trying to talk sense into her date.

"Alec! Alec it's me Karlia!" she screamed as he raced towards her.

"I don't care who you are witch," he replied. "I'm thirsty and I got to say mmmm you're blood seems to hold the cure."

"Alec!" Karlia yelled out once more frantically trying to get him to realize who she was.

"Remember Luminare? Chessie? She called me 'a gorgeous girl' and-"

"Chessie?" Alec questioned. "How do you know about her? She's my cousin and even more powerful than me!"

"Chessie's a vampire?" Karlia questioned. "Wow, wouldn't have guessed that."

By now Alec was threatening close to Karlia. His fingers snaked around two of the bars and he looked into the cage. Karlia on instinct had backed right up to the back of the cage. Not that it would make too much of a difference as the cage was in the middle of this vast room and so Alec could get to her no matter where she was.

"Enough witch!" Alec cried out. "Time for dinner!"

With that Alec ripped the cage door off of its hinges as easily as though he were opening a small wooden gate and tossed it aside. It made a huge crash, but Alec unperturbed leaped up and into the cage in one swoop.

"Goodbye witch, nice knowing you!" Alec cried as he lunged at her grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Alec no!" Karlia yelled out. "I know you're good. I know you're good!"

"Hasn't anyone told you witch," Alec started. "There is no good or evil. That's just what everyone wants you to believe. There are only mortals and immortals and as you are a mortal…"

His eyes narrowed as his smile widened and Karlia knew it was all over. She hadn't even been a member of the power of three for a month yet and already she was about to die.

Alec whirled her around so that her back faced him and he quickly tossed her blonde hair aside tilting her head so that her neck lay bare and ready for him to drink and then…it happened.

Karlia felt the searing pain as Alec bit into her neck.

"Any last words?" he whispered.

"Only that," Karlia whimpered. "I wish I knew and that no matter what…I will always love you."

Just as Alec was about to drink, white and blue lights surrounded Karlia and he took a jump back being stunned by the brightness.

"Ph-Ph-Philippe?" Karlia questioned dazed by everything that had happened.

"Hey sunshine!" Philippe replied smiling as though he had just met up with her at work. "Sorry to intrude, but play time with the nice vampire is over K?"

He looked at Leo and nodded, so the white lighter held on to them both and orbed them out of the mansion and back to the power-port.

"Noooooooooooo!" Alec cried out frustrated as he saw his meal orb away.

"*"

"Selena! We're home!" Philippe called out to his friend.

He glanced up at the clock and noted that it was now 10am. They had all been awake for more than 26 hours.

Carefully he helped guide Karlia to a seat in the living room while awaiting Selena.

"What happened?" Selena asked, noticing a quite disheveled Karlia.

"I-I got bitten!" Karlia replied.

"You what?!" Selena asked. "Philippe! I thought you were going in to save her."

"I thought we did!" Philippe yelled back. "Karlia, did he drink from you?"

"Drink?" Selena asked. "She's not filled with merlot Philippe."

"It's the term vampire's use when they suck blood from humans," Leo advised now taking a seat opposite Karlia.

"No," Karlia replied. "I mean, I don't think so. I think he just-"

"Bit you," Philippe confirmed looking at her neck. "Ok well that's good. There are a few steps towards transformation and he only succeeded in one of them."

"Thanks to you guys," Karlia replied smiling at both Philippe and Leo in turn.

"Leo," Philippe called though not looking away from his friend. "A little healing, a little healing."

Leo rushed over and Philippe moved to sit next to Selena.

"And how are you missy?" he asked. "Any luck with wolf-cub?"

"Is _that_ what you're calling him now?" she asked not knowing whether to be offended by the nickname or not.

"Thanks Leo," Karlia smiled as she rubbed her neck realizing the bite marks were now gone.

"Feeling better?" Selena asked skeptically.

"Physically yeah," Karlia replied. "But mentally no, if anything I feel worse. Who knew that our dates would just so happen to be supernatural beings?"

"Tell me about it," Selena replied. "So much for a normal life."

"And it explains why Alec could only see me at night," Karlia connected.

"And Matt during the day," Selena agreed.

Philippe walked over to Karlia and wrapped his arms around her giving her a hug.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked cautiously.

"Well there's nothing we can do," Selena replied. "Wolves and Vampire's don't mix with witches."

"Ah, who says?" Philippe asked.

"The elders," Leo replied solemnly.

Once again Philippe felt the flame of anger against Leo's little 'con's' raging up inside of him.

"The elders?!" he raged now standing and walking right up to Leo. "Why the hell would they care if their dates are wolves or vampires?"

Karlia took this moment to scurry over to Selena. She had never seen Philippe react this way especially to Leo and she definitely didn't want to get caught in the cross-fire.

"Because Philippe," Leo replied calmly. "They're not good-"

"Not good enough?!" Philippe spat. "They're neutral Leo, it's not like they're going to try to kill us…again."

"Yes Philippe they're neutral-" Leo tried to explain again.

But Philippe was having none of it.

"Exactly," he replied turning to Selena and Karlia. "So ladies it's your choice. _If_ you can live with it, I say keep going."

"Philippe!" Leo yelled right back at him. "Neutral is different to being good!"

"How?" Philippe demanded, now getting really pissed-off with his white-lighter.

"It's completely different!" Leo barked back. "Team Neutral are _only_ loyal to their own kind."

Leo started flailing his arms around wildly; clearly he was passionate about this.

"Alec's not going to care if someone turns Karlia, in fact he'd be thrilled! And you know Matt won't ever betray his alpha, so one word and Selena's dead! God Philippe I thought you knew more th-"

But Philippe had, had quite enough and froze the man.

"That's more than enough out of _you_ Mr.!" he yelled at the man.

But even looking over at Selena and Karlia, he could tell that Leo's words had certainly had an impact.

"Maybe…Maybe he's right Philippe," Selena pondered out loud.

"No Selena," Philippe replied. "The only right he is experiencing is being out of his right mind!"

He walked over to the girls.

"Matt loves you Selena," he said comfortingly, taking a seat on the coffee table and holding her hands. "I know this for a fact."

He then turned to Karlia.

"And I'm sure Alec is crazy about you," he said to Karlia hoping this was the case.

"It's true," Selena replied.

"Wait what?" Karlia asked. "How do you know, you've never talked to him about me."

"No," Selena replied standing and walking over to Leo. "But I had a premonition last night at the mansion about you two, you were kissing him right here at the power-port and you were…happy."

"Really?" Karlia couldn't help but beam.

"Really," Selena replied. "So Philippe, I know you have demons with the man _you_ should be dating-"

"Selena I told you-" Philippe interrupted, but Selena cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah, yadda-yadda," she replied. "Hate is the opposite of love, but you're coming from the place of love Philippe."

"But-"

"No but's," Selena cut him off again. "You know that despite all his flaws _this_ _is_ your man. Now unfreeze him so that Karlia and I can work out how to save ours. I finally had a nice premonition and damn-it, it's going to come true."

Philippe couldn't help but smile at Selena's new found determination and in this moment, with him being frozen and all, staring up at Leo, Philippe knew she was right.

Unfreezing Leo, Philippe jumped right in.

"Ok Leo, I'm sorry. Let's agree to disagree," he said. "I hate arguing with you."

Leo laughed timidly and then turned to Selena.

"Frozen?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"Little bit yeah," she replied.

But before anyone could say another word the sound of chimes could be heard followed by white and blue orbs that once disappeared were replaced with a plump well-dressed woman with shoulder-length ginger hair.

Selena's eyes widened as Karlia scratched her head trying to recall who she was.

Philippe meanwhile had daggers for this woman and froze her at once.

"Oooh I love this power!" he cried still glaring at the woman.

"Philippe!" Leo replied. "Unfreeze her right now!"

"Why? So you can speak goobly-gook and she can click away before uttering my name and clicking again?!"

"Goobly wha?" Karlia asked.

"Its-" Leo started but Philippe put his hand in front of Leo's mouth.

" _Their_ freaked-up language!" he replied in anger. "And _this_ one is the worst B-"

"Beautiful lady?" Leo suggested.

"Ha!" Philippe replied. "Not exactly what I was going to say."

"Philippe just unfreeze her," Karlia replied. "She'll never leave if we don't."

"Ok," Philippe sighed now slowly walking around the woman and taking in every detail.

The grey suit jacket she wore was admittedly well-fitted to her and the skirt also, but the whole outfit was quite blah. Especially when you considered the royal-god like appearance the elder's robes gave off and the ever-changing yet perfectly fitting clothes Leo chose to wear.

"But I'm warning you, one _click_ and she freezes again, understood?"

Leo nodded tentatively and Philippe now standing behind her unfroze the woman.

"You must be the p-" she started then stopped looking at Karlia and Selena. "I thought there were meant to be three of you?"

Philippe tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hi," he replied quickly waving a hand in her face forcing her to take a step back.

"Oh hi," she replied started.

But as shocked as she seemed to be it was quickly replaced by the business like tone Philippe knew she always adopted.

"So you must be _Selena_ ," she asked Karlia.

"Ah no," Karlia replied a tad annoyed that this woman didn't know who she was. "I'm Karlia, you know, the blonde one."

"Yes," Selena chimed in. "I'm Selena, the dark-one…and you would be?"

"Why I'm-"

"Natalie," Philippe replied for her. "One of the _ah-hem_ busiest of the bunch."

A forced smile was spread across his face and he talked through his teeth not at all hiding the disdain he had for this woman.

Back when Piper, Phoebe and Prue ruled the charmed world this woman, who had known Leo for a long time, came down to talk to the charmed ones about a darklighter she needed help with. Sadly she was very quick to scold Leo when he had simply taken a bite of a slice of toast as he was hungry. It didn't stop there however as she _clicked_ away about all the things she despised about him pausing only to say one word in English which just so happen to be Piper's name.

Philippe had never liked her and in fact was quite thrilled when she was killed by the darklighter she was after. Now having her back, for whatever reason, was more than enough to set Philippe off. As far as he was concerned, she could take her rules and shove them up her…

" _Yes_ ," Natalie replied just as stiffly. "I am. And I have come down here for the emerald jewel. After all Leo…"

Philippe extended his arms and froze her at once.

"What?" Leo questioned.

"Really Leo?" Philippe asked. "Really?"

"What Philippe?" Karlia asked.

"FYI S and K," Philippe started. "I'm going to unfreeze this… _woman_ …and believe me you'll hear nothing but clikety-clacking sounds…watch."

As he unfroze her they realized he was right. Natalie began to click her tongue in frequent succession while looking at Leo intimidatingly. Meanwhile Philippe was even more annoyed to see Leo click right back.

"Click, click, click," Natalie continued. "Click-click-click-click, Philippe! Click-click-"

"Stop it!" Philippe cried out over the two. "We're not together so get off your high horse Natalie!"

Natalie stopped, but looked at Philippe questioningly.

"Yes, I _know_ all about you and your…ways…" Philippe continued. "So let's move to the one part of you I _can_ stand, which is where you focus on the _task at hand_ and not your billions of rules Leo doesn't follow."

Natalie made to object, but Philippe stopped her from even starting.

"And _one_ more little click and I swear to god, out you'll go!"

He froze her quickly and turned to the others.

"Any objections?" he asked simply.

"Nope," Karlia replied.

"None here," Selena echoed.

"Good," Philippe replied unfreezing her once more.

"*"

 _Wow Philippe seems to be having more and more issues every moment doesn't he?_

 _So do you think he was justified in how he reacted around her? What about Leo and Philippe, do you think they should end up together? And what will happen to Alec and Matt?_

 _Please review and let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts._

 **Next time on The Power of Three:** _When things are crazy and everything's running amuck how can anyone expect the power of three to think straight?_

 _(Philippe): "Every single time! I'm getting sick of it!"_

 _(Selena): "Sick of what?"_

 _(Katya): "You're kidding right?"_

 _But what mistake will Selena make that could land everyone in trouble._

 _(Matt): "Do you trust me?"_

 _(Selena): "I do."_

 _And what may be harmful to others, may just be exactly what Philippe and Leo need._

 _(Leo): "Well I guess we can at least talk."_

 _(Philippe): "About what?"_

 _(Leo): "Us."_

 _(Philippe): "Oh, yeah, good idea."_

 _But which character is about to turn a no-win situation into one that is full of hope._

 _(Woman): "Hi there. I'm-…"_

 _BEAT-BEAT-BEAT…..WHO-IS-SHE?_

 _All new Power of Three next week._


	7. Chapter 7: Let's talk about us

_Hey guys hope you enjoyed your magical week, while I transistioned from a 20 something writer to a thirty year old (as Grace Adler would say- oi goyam!)._

 _Wiccancharmedguy – Thank you for your continued reviews. Yes you will find out a little more about the woman at the end of this chapter. Is she innocent or is she someone else. All will be revealed soon._

 _AlintaG – I'm glad you remember Natalie, she was quite snooty wasn't she. In a way I wish she could have survived only so that she could have come back once more, just to see Piper's reaction lol._

 _MaureenB – Yes it is a little worrying that all these demons and even whitelighters are coming back isn't it? I guess because Selena, Philippe and Karlia are new to being members of the power of three they're not questioning it. But time will tell if it's happening for a bigger reason. Good pick-up by the way._

 _NathanMY- Yes I think I would freeze Natalie also Nathan. Yes Philippe's issues will be explained in this chapter. Thanks for your vote to put Philippe and Leo together. A few people seem open to it. Yes I did say early on that I would do 10 stories with 10 chapters each at this point I do plan to stick to that._

 _ReynoldR- Karlia might want to be turned you're right. Time will tell my friend._

 _Ok back to the story we go…._

 **Previously on the power of three:**

 _(Philippe): "What once was bound must now be broken. Sever the ties may the_

 _truth be spoken."_

 _(Matt): "She wanted to recruit wolves and vampires as we're the best protection_

 _out there."_

 _(Selena, reading): "This is it! The Emerald Gemstone."_

 _(Leo): "Basically it's saying it's a stone that holds the power of the great ocean."_

 _(Leo, in pain): "Argh! It's Karlia, she's in trouble."_

 _(Alec): "How do you know about Chessie?"_

 _(Karlia): "Chessie's a vampire?"_

 _(Karlia to Selena): "I got bitten."_

 _(Selena): "What?!"_

 _(Philippe): "Did he drink from you?"_

 _(Karlia): "No."_

 _(Selena to Karlia): "I had a premonition you were kissing him at the power-port."_

 _(Philippe): "Selena I told you-"_

 _(Selena referring to Leo): "You know that despite his flaws –this- is your man."_

 _(Natalie): "I'm-"_

 _(Philippe): "Natalie, one of the –busiest- of the bunch."_

 _(Natalie): "I've come down here for the jewel."_

 **CHAPTER SEVEN – Let's talk about us.**

Philippe unfroze Natalie and hands on hips, glared at her, daring her to go against the rules he had just made.

"Ok," Natalie agreed testily. "Well Philippe, I'm here for the jewel."

"What?" Karlia asked. "Why? I have the power so what does it matter?"

"Hoping to keep it as a memento?" Selena whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Was hoping to," Karlia whispered back.

Natalie, who by now was walking up and down reminding everyone of a drill-sergeant, continued not noticing the quick back and forth at all.

"Suffice it to say the elders believe that the Jewel will be safer with them and I agree."

"Of course you do," Philippe whispered to the others.

Sadly not quietly enough.

"What was that?" Natalie asked.

"Oh nothing," Philippe replied. "Continue."

"And here I thought you were the smart one," Natalie replied, though more to herself then Philippe.

Philippe's eyes widened, shocked at the insubordination.

"So Karlia, if you could just give me the Jewel and I'll be on my way." Natalie concluded, turning to face her fellow white lighter. "And honestly Leo _click-"_

Instantly Philippe froze her.

"Urgh!" he couldn't help but scream, before imitating the woman out of annoyance. " _I mean honestly Leo, let's click!…_ Guys!"

He whirled around noticing Selena and Karlia not moving.

"Jewel, get, now."

"But-" Karlia started.

"K," Philippe replied. "She has to go! She has to go right now, before I ask you to summon a guillotine so I can chop her-"

"Some carrots and make a nice a nice platter?" Leo suggested helpfully.

"Not exactly," Philippe spat.

Selena rushed off up the stairs, supposedly to look for the Jewel. While Philippe and Karlia were followed by Leo back into the living room.

"I'm sorry Leo," Philippe started taking a seat. "I know she's your friend and all but-"

"It's ok," Leo replied. "I've been through it all with Piper before; I guess she's not everyone's drink of choice."

"You guess?" Karlia replied, surprised.

In her mind she couldn't think of one person that would like this woman. She was not only way too authoritative but also didn't seem to be able to take orders herself.

"I'm just sorry we didn't think of the guillotine earlier," she smiled nudging Philippe lightly.

He smiled.

"Leo, you know I would never seriously-" he started.

"I know Philippe," Leo replied. "I know."

"Things just don't seem to work out," Karlia said. "I mean whenever something good seems to happen, crap comes up and even when we're down more crap happens."

"Every single time," Philippe replied. "I can't even begin to think of having a relationship with all this, let alone anything else I would like. I'm getting sick of it."

"Getting sick of what?" Selena asked now walking into the living room with the jewel.

"You're kidding right?" Karlia shot back, before pointing to Natalie.

"Oh Ms Bossy-boots-queen-of-mean-I-may-be-a-whitelighter-but-I-still-look-down-on-you?" Selena asked.

"That'd be the one," Karlia replied while Philippe burst out laughing.

"Well put Selena," he complimented.

"Ok here's the thing," she replied holding up the Jewel. "Philippe unfreeze, I'll give it to her and then we really need to divide and conquer."

"Agreed," Philippe replied. "Being awake for more than 24 hours makes for a very grouchy Philippe."

"And don't I know it," Selena replied, before forcibly smiling.

"Oh, because you've been a barrel of sunshine too missy," Philippe retorted forcibly smiling back.

"Exactly," Selena replied.

The pair had a quick laugh between them before Selena pointed to Natalie and Philippe unfroze her. Natalie continued clicking and Selena ran up to her noting the look of anger that could have killed anyone if Philippe had power in his eyes.

"Ok here's the jewel, happy orbing, goodbye now!" Selena said in a rush.

"Yes, thank you Selena, I should get this back." Natalie replied crisply.

She pulled on her suit coat straightening it and then orbed out.

"*"

Moments later after a quick discussion on what to do next all four were headed to the attic, Selena and Karlia in the lead. Leo had advised that they grab some holy water as it would serve as good protection against the vampires.

"Leo, I don't think I've ever made holy water," Philippe confided in him as they followed the others who were also heavily conversing.

"No, but your grams has," Leo replied smiling.

"What, sh-…" Philippe started, this point raising several questions that for now needed to be shelved. "It'd be quite old then wouldn't it?"

"The older the better," Leo replied. "It gets stronger, the longer it stands."

Meanwhile ahead of them Selena and Karlia were again sticking their noses into Philippe and Leo's future.

"So, like, not at all?" Selena asked.

"Well that's the thing," Karlia replied. "Leo said he thinks he's not into him and Philippe just said he can't even think about it with all this power of three stuff."

"He so needs a day off," Selena replied. "Seriously next time it's a power-o-two job, we have to let him go do something…normal."

"Agreed," Karlia replied.

The pair walked into the attic and looked around.

"Ah Leo," Selena called as the others were walking in. "A little supernatural mumbo jumbo locator if you please."

Leo laughed.

"It's in the chest over there," Leo replied, pointing to a chest that Philippe had never been able to open. "You'll find the key under it."

Philippe glared at Leo. How many secrets had his grams actually kept from him?

It turned out Leo was right. Karlia and Selena lifted the chest and there lying under it was indeed a brass old-fashioned key.

Philippe raced over and picked it up then after the girls put the chest back down, put it into the lock and opened it.

A violent wind came rushing out of it creating a feeling as though the attic was under attack by a vicious tornado, before the voice of his grams boomed out throughout the room.

" _What is the secret to Hantuchova's success_?" her voice boomed.

"What the?" Selena asked.

"Who?!" Karlia replied.

Philippe looked into the chest bravely and yelled out through the wind storm.

"Her ability to serve out-wide and drill down the line or as they call it, the old one-two."

" _That answer is…correct."_ Came grams reply.

Instantly the wind storm flew back into the box and everything in the attic became still. As Selena looked around she noticed that so many of the attics objects had fallen to the floor and the book of shadows itself was precariously close to doing so. She walked over on pure instinct and started to pick things up and put them back. Meanwhile Karlia stared at Philippe.

"Ok what or who in the world is _Hanta-Hunter-Handa-"_ she started.

"Hantuchova?" Philippe asked smiling back at her.

"Yeah, that…thing," Karlia replied weakly.

"She was my favourite tennis player growing up," Philippe admitted. "Grams must have known I'd come across this one day."

"She did," Leo replied. "Remember that day she asked you who your favourite was?"

"Kind of," Philippe answered. "I remember we watched her all the time from then on."

"That's why," Leo replied. "She knew you would be destined for something magical one day and so she created a magical password so-to-speak."

"Sweet!" Philippe replied without thinking. "Go Grams!"

"Yes…well…go Grams indeed," Selena chimed in continuing to put books away where they belonged. "I don't know about you guys, but I have a wolf downstairs and Karlia has a vampire running loose, so um…holy water?"

Philippe admired that Selena was picking everything up and impressed that she hadn't stopped what she was doing while talking to them.

"Oh yeah, right," Philippe replied quickly rummaging through the chest. "Um Leo, I have no idea what I am looking for."

He stood up and Karlia whispered to him.

"Are you sure? He's right there," she said referring to Leo, who fortunately was now rummaging through the chest too busy to notice.

"Nice ass don't you think?" she teased.

"Karlia," Philippe whispered back.

"Well…?" she pushed.

"Ok, well, yes," Philippe said quickly. "Now hush."

Just as they finished the back and forth banter Leo stood with five vials of the holy water.

"Here we go," he said. "You guys take two each; Selena can stay here and look after Matt."

"Selena agrees," Selena said, now stepping away from the book shelf and heading straight back down stairs.

"Ok let's…" Leo started, this time fully ready for Philippe to crush his middle which of course he did.

Karlia smiled, she knew they were getting closer to being together.

"…go," Leo finished.

Karlia touched his shoulder and the three orbed back to the mansion once more.

"*"

"I love you but you're a werewolf…I love you, but I don't exactly want to give birth to wolf cubs…I love you but…" Selena muttered thinking of Matt as she made her way back down towards the attic.

She passed through the kitchen and looked around wondering what she could give him to eat. She knew he loved crisps and so took a packet out of the cupboard.

 _But maybe he wants something more fresh like rare steak, did you think of that?_ Her cynical side asked.

Deciding it wasn't such a bad idea, she went to the fridge and took some out that she had only defrosted the day before and made her way down to the basement with both options.

"Ok so I have crisps and rare…" she began, but stopped as she noticed the sheet that was covering Matt had slipped off.

"Oh," she cried startled. "Ummm Matt, what should I do?"

The man struggled but finally said

"Could you possibly untie my hands? At least that way I can hold the damn thing."

Many would have hated the way he'd snapped, but Selena was not like others and admired that he was as sure of himself as she was.

"Yeah I think that would be best," she replied and raced to do just that.

"Thanks Selena," Matt said. "I'm so sorry you have to see me like this."

Selena finished untying his hands and Matt rubbed his wrists as they were now in a lot of pain. Selena trying very hard not to look directly at him passed the sheet to her date and he covered himself.

"Honestly I just wish we'd gotten to know each other well enough so that you could tell me," she replied. "I mean now I don't know if your intentions to date me were genuine or not."

"Selena," Matt replied, now covered once more. "I never knew what you were until Philippe told me. It was my human half that met you the wolf wasn't even present."

"Wait," Selena pondered. "So they're two separate entities?"

"Well yeah," Matt replied. "Once I've changed I have no control until I change back. Most of the time I can't even remember anything that's happened while I'm a wolf."

"So that's why you charged at us," Selena wondered out loud.

"Charged?" Matt asked. "At you?"

"Yeah you came at Philippe and me in the forest, that's why we threw a potion at you changing you back." Selena replied, not really thinking much of it.

"Oh my god Selena," Matt cried. "I'm so sorry. I would never hurt you if I could stop it."

"I'm beginning to realize that," Selena replied, not being able to help the smile that spread across her face.

She leant in and gave him a quick kiss.

"What was that for?" a pleased Matt asked.

"Knowing I can trust you," Selena replied without thinking. "It's been a while since I could trust a guy."

"Aside from Philippe?" Matt asked.

Selena walked back over to pick up the food.

"Philippe's more like the girlfriend you never had," she replied cheekily raising the food options.

"So ah, crisps or fresh meat?" she asked as though a waiter in a restaurant.

"Oh," Matt said. "Um Selena, as a human I don't eat rare meat."

"Oh," Selena replied embarrassed. "Sorry."

"No, no," Matt corrected. "I'm glad you thought of it, shows how considerate you are."

Selena flung the bag of crisps at him.

"I don't know how considerate I'll be by the time you've told me everything," she replied. "But let's start shall we? How were you turned?"

"Before I answer that," Matt retorted. "Do you trust me?"

"I do," Selena replied. "I don't know how, but I really do."

"Well…could you, maybe…untie me?" he asked and then quickly continued. "Only so we can both be more comfortable. I won't run away, you know that already."

"I don't see why not," Selena replied. "Sure."

And she raced over to free the man she was helplessly falling for.

"*"

Back at the mansion Philippe was waking up from what had been a terrible nightmare. He had dreamt that the three of them had orbed back in, only to literally bump into Katya who had then blown some sort of power into their faces. It had been awful and Philippe was glad it was simply a nightmare.

However upon picking himself up, he realized he had been lying on a stone floor. Something that he would never do. As he looked straight ahead he saw Leo already awake and leaning against a stone wall. They were in a very small room, so small it seemed like it would only accommodate one more person before being filled to capacity.

Everywhere was stoned. Stone floors, stone walls and even a high-raised stone roof. Fire-lit torches were strategically placed onto each wall creating some sort of light source but that was all that this room had. In truth it was very dull.

"It wasn't a dream was it?" Philippe asked Leo.

"Katya using sleep dust and putting us in here?" Leo asked. "Sadly, no."

"Can't we just orb out?" Philippe asked, wondering why in the world Leo hadn't already.

"No, I tried that already," he replied. "This room must be protected from magic. Mr Bloodworth used to use this place as a prison for those who betrayed him. But it was never magic proof."

"How do you know?" Philippe asked.

"Well…" Leo started. "Let's just say I riled up his son once and he threw me in here."

"And you orbed out?" Philippe asked impressed.

"Beats sitting around doing nothing all day," Leo replied. "Of course I never came back to this place before now."

"So Leo," Philippe asked "Since we can't orb, what exactly do you propose that we do? Because I don't see anything t-"

"Well I guess we can at least talk," Leo interrupted.

"About what?" Philippe asked.

No amount of talking was going to help Karlia with Alec, destroy Katya or even help Matt.

"Us," Leo replied simply. "You seem to keep scape-goating the topic."

"Oh, yeah….um, sorry about that," Philippe stammered hating that he was forced into this physical and proverbial corner. "Good idea."

"Alright," Leo started rubbing his hands together as though having prepared for this day his whole life. "Let's start with – you have a problem with me, what is it?"

Philippe was startled to say the least. He was hoping to keep pussy-footing around the idea until they could find a way out, but Leo had stopped any chance of that happening.

"I…" Philippe started. "I don't exactly have a problem with _you_. It's more little things that you do."

"Ok good good," Leo replied sounding annoyingly like a psychologist to Philippe. "So what do I do that bugs you?"

"Well for one thing," Philippe snapped. "Talking like a counselor right now. Don't forget Leo, Selena and I only _just_ dropped out of school."

Leo chuckled slightly embarrassed.

"You're right," he admitted. "But I actually do want to know Philippe. I mean one minute we're having coffee in Paris and chatting warmly in your room and the next moment you're treating me like scum. What gives?"

"I…I'm" Philippe started unable to help a tear that rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry Leo, it's just so…complicated."

"What is?" Leo asked softly.

"This!" Philippe replied as more tears leaked out. "You and I! I mean ok, I'll admit it, I want to be with you so badly it hurts. I want the picket fence, the roaring fire, the intimacy but…"

"But what?" Leo asked getting frustrated wondering what could possibly have stopped him.

"But it's so complicated!" Philippe repeated. "I mean the little things like you interrupting me-"

"Like you do with me," Leo couldn't help but barge in.

"Yeah…that," Philippe replied. "And you being so damned anti-love with S-"

"When am I anti-love?!" Leo demanded.

"I don't know, Selena & Matt, Karlia & Alec?" Philippe replied.

"It's mixed-breeding!" Leo replied.

"And?!" Philippe asked. "Who gives a crap! As long as they're happy who bloody cares?!"

"Well…it's just…" Leo started.

"Them?" Philippe asked pointing upwards. "Isn't it? From what I can recall about you, a lot of the things that don't make sense about you are driven by people like Ms Boosy boots queen of mean and others up there!"

"Well…" Leo started. "Yeah. I mean they're my bosses."

"While you're a white lighter!" Philippe corrected.

"Do you want me to clip my wings?" Leo asked. "Because I would if you wanted me too."

Leo looked quite vulnerable for the first time during this discussion. Philippe could tell just how serious Leo was being and knew in that moment all he needed to do was say the word and he appreciated it fully.

"No Leo, that's not what I want," Philippe replied. "I want you to stay as our white lighter, I do. But I also want you to be able to think for yourself. Them aside name one issue _you_ have with say Matt  & Selena."

"I…" Leo started.

"Yes?" Philippe asked.

"Ok, you're right," Leo confirmed. "I, myself have no issue with either relationship."

"And _that's_ what I need," Philippe said. "To know that your opinion is just that, yours and not some dude's who's floating on a cloud."

"I can give you that," Leo smiled, though a single tear fell down his cheek and his eyes were quite puffy.

"But it's not just that!" Philippe replied hastily, as he knew the moment he gave in he would never be able to say what he truly needed to.

"What will _they_ think about us?" he asked.

"Nothing Philippe, it's none of their business," Leo replied.

"Psh-yeah!" Philippe replied. "Tell that to Piper. Oh yeah, wait, you did. Many times and they _still_ interfered."

"Yes, but that was a different time Philippe," Leo replied.

"Uh-huh," Philippe replied skeptically. "Even if it was and I hate to say this but…"

He took a huge breath; it was so hard to say after all.

"Piper was a woman! Holy matrimony and relationships and yadda-yadda are usually only recognized between _men_ and _women_. If they-"

Philippe stopped as Leo started laughing.

"Oh yeah, so funny. So funny Leo, clap-clap." Philippe replied annoyed at Leo's response.

But Leo picked himself up and walked over to sit by Philippe.

"I'm only laughing because _they_ don't look at love like that," he replied. "Love to them is between _humans_ and not _men_ and _women._ They're open to anything. I thought you knew that already. Wiccan law makes it quite clear."

"It…it does?" Philippe asked, surprisingly Leo that there was finally something he didn't know.

"Yes Philippe," Leo replied. "Unlike other religions in this one anyone can be w-"

But before Leo could get any further Philippe's lips crashed into his.

For Philippe it was a perfect moment. So perfect the music to _A Whole New World_ started up in his head. His heart beat profusely and his blood warmed.

 _Could this actually be happening?_ He thought to himself. _Could we really be doing this?_

As the kissing continued it seemed nothing would pull them apart, but just then the door to the room opened and Leo and Philippe jumped.

A woman peeked her head in around the door and then confidently stepped inside the room. Not that it was easy with the limited amount of space, but she did it with so much grace and sophistication that Philippe wondered if she was royalty. Certainly the outfit she had on screamed as such. It was a gorgeous one piece dark green dress with sparkling silver embroidery patterned around the edges. A cape of sorts matching the colour of the dress had been fastened around her neck and flowed nicely down to the ground.

"Hi there," the lady said, not at all perturbed by the men being on the floor nor the fact that she had walked in on them kissing. "I'm Allyria."

"Hi," Philippe started, picking himself up from the floor and dusting himself off. "Thanks for opening that, but ah, friend or foe?"

"Philippe!" Leo cried nudging him in the ribs.

"What Leo?" Philippe asked. "We need to know."

"I do," Leo answered.

"Excuse me," Philippe said putting up a finger towards Allyria before turning back to Leo. "What do you mean you do?"

"Philippe, this is Allyria Demorè, queen of the vampires."

"*"

 _And that's the end of the chapter!_

 _So what did you think of Philippe and Leo's discussion and first kiss? What about Selena trusting Matt enough to untie him? And where is Karlia?_

 _Please review and let me know I'd love to hear your thoughts._

 **Next time on The Power of Three:** _With only three chapters left until the finale…_

 _(Alec): "I knew you'd come back."_

 _(Karlia): "Don't you remember your name?"_

 _(Alec): "My name is Constant!" "My vampuric side took over."_

 _And no one knowing exactly what they want._

 _(Matt): "Werewolves heal quickly. I have friends…loyalty…it's a good life."_

 _(Selena): "Turn me."_

 _What information could stop everyone in their tracks?_

 _(Allyria): "I have a plan to destroy Katya once and for all."_

 _(Philippe): "And we're all ears."_

 _(Allyria): "To make the transition back into the living comes with a price."_

 _(Leo): "And the only way to vanquish Katya for good is…"_

 _BEAT-BEAT-BEAT…WHAT-IS-IT?_

 _(Allyria): "Precisely."_

 _(Philippe): "I'm sure there's another way!"_

 _(Allyria): "Alas Philippe there is not."_

 _All new Power of Three next week._


	8. Chapter 8: Turn me

_Hey guys! And so here we stand so much closer to the end of the story. I will warn you all now that this book will end with chapter 10 or an epilogue to come after that. So there's only 1 week left until we are done._

 _With that in mind this week there are 2 uploads Chapters 8 & 9._

 _NellD - I'm so glad you enjoyed Leo and Philippe's first kiss. It was romantic wasn't it. I always wanted them to be together and am glad they finally are also._

 _Charmaine29 – I think the issue regarding Selena and not untying Matt had a lot to do with whether or not she could trust him. Now that she can he is free. But you can understand her being skeptical. I hope all of them end up happy with their loved ones too. Time will tell._

 _Axlelife#- Yes Katya is a demon but she doesn't have any active powers aside from shape-shifting. So she needs reinforcements to help her on her way._

 _MartiVic – Thanks Martivic yeah I am a huge fan of Daniela Hantuchova. I'm glad you thought it was a nice touch. As Philippe and his Grams were both into tennis I thought it would be the perfect place to mention her._

 _DanielR – Yes Daniel for now Natalie is gone. She may come down again but I haven't decided as yet for sure. But just as Cole came back to ruffle up Phoebe's feathers I feel like that Natalie can definitely be like that with Philippe._

 **CHAPTER EIGHT – Turn me.**

Karlia who had managed to avoid being put to sleep by Katya the demon was now walking around the mansion with sheer determination. Ever since they orbed back here she could think of nothing more than locating Alec.

She could hear Philippe's whiney voice in her head.

 _But he just tried to kill you!_ He'd cry. _Do you really want to die?_ And the obvious; _where would that leave the power of three?_

Thinking of the last remark, she couldn't help but feel bad for Leo. Unlike Matt and Alec whose partners were trying to deal with the fact that they were supernatural, for Leo, his potential soul-mate had seemed to be rejecting him all because of the Power of Three. Karlia wasn't as enthused as Philippe when it came to their destiny; however she was also nowhere near Selena's determination which seemed to be to avoid it wherever she could.

In that moment she felt lucky to have the night she'd had before coming home. Being able to see Alec and enjoy herself on their date had allowed her to come home and so-to-speak get right back to work. She knew Selena had been right when she'd suggested that next time they let Philippe and Leo off the hook and had already made plans to ensure that was the case.

" _Ooof!"_ Karlia couldn't help but gasp as she knocked into a wall.

Clearly she was so deep in thought she hadn't been watching where she was going.

But now that she looked around she realized she was in the dining room from earlier.It really did disgust her looking at all the pink and so quickening her pace she left the room and almost bolted down the stairs to the one room she knew she could stand the bedroom.

As she walked into the room however, she spotted Alec lying on the bed reading a book.

"What you got there?" she asked, having no idea what else to say.

"Hamlet," he smiled, snapping the book shut and standing. "Shakespeare sure knew how to get revenge."

He walked over to Karlia and his smile widened.

"I knew you'd come back," he said. "They certainly got it dead-wrong when they made up the whole ' _once bitten twice shy'_ thing. If anything it's ' _once bitten now addicted_ '".

He laughed in a very sick way creating shivers that now ran down Karlia's spine.

Ignoring them however, Karlia reached into her pocket and threw a vial at the man she loved. Unbeknown to Philippe or Leo, Karlia had stowed a freezing potion in her pocket for this very moment.

She cursed the fact that Philippe was the only one who had the power to freeze, but at least being a potions whiz she could now do this instead.

" _Problem is_ ," she said to herself. " _How do I unfreeze his head?"_

 _Duh! You're a witch_ came the unwanted voice of Philippe in her head once more.

Spying a pad and pencil on a nearby davenport she quickly started working out a spell that would work for her.

"Ok," she said moments later. "This should do it."

She read the words aloud.

 _Winds of time and winds of change,_

 _Help me now with your selective breeze._

 _This man must talk, but move him not._

 _Yes only his head should now unfreeze._

And instantly it worked.

"Wow, I love being a witch," Karlia mumbled to herself.

Alec's entire body remained frozen but his head now moved as did his eyes and his mouth opened as he screamed.

"What have you done to me witch?!" he demanded.

"I'LL do the talking!" Karlia corrected standing up for herself for the first time in what felt like forever. "As you may have noticed you are otherwise incapacitated, so you _listen_ while I talk!"

Alec's face showed that he completely disagreed, but his mouth remained closed not daring to allow a word to escape.

Karlia held her hand out towards the entrance door and with a slight movement in that direction it slammed shut.

"Your telekinetic?" Alec couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this Karlia looked down at the hand that had made it happen. This was the second time her right hand had done something she never expected it to. The first time was last week where when facing a Darklighter fire sprung out of it.

Making a mental note that she would talk to Leo about it later, she looked back up at Alec.

"That's not your concern," she replied. "What's going on Alec?!"

The vampire looked at her almost wanting to bite her whole head off.

"Who is Alec?" he asked. "You keep calling me that, who is he?!"

This forced Karlia to take a physical and metaphorical step backwards.

"You are!" she replied. "Alec is you! Don't you remember your name?"

"My name is Constant!" Alec replied indignantly. "I remember it quite well thank you. Despite the fact that I was born over 100 years ago my name has never ch…"

He stopped and thought for a moment.

"But then, he started starring off into space as though recalling a memory. "I met this young lady. She was so gracious to me and we got on so well. I remember I told her my name was Alec in fear of her finding out my secret, I mean how many Constant's are there in our world?" he smiled still looking off into space.

"She could never know of my true identity. Many I had fallen for had discovered it and they'd all run for the hills. Some didn't get away quickly enough and my vampuric side took over. I will always regret that."

As Karlia listened to the vampire's tale, she was shocked and in awe of it all at the same time. There was so much about Alec or Constant that she never knew.

"She was so sweet to me, so kind and fare," Alec continued. "She worked at a local pub, modernized for the times naturally. But her hospitality was second to none. She always offered me a beverage and would sit there listening to me go on and on about my day. Her soul was so white, so pure. And her name was…"

"Karlia?" she couldn't help but reply.

Alec shook his head and looked at her, though this time with sadness in his eyes.

"Yes!" He replied. "Oh my god…it's you!...What have I done?"

"*"

"Qu-…of the…" Philippe replied caught completely off-guard.

"Your speechless I see," Allyria replied.

"Your M-m-majesty," Philippe replied, now shocking Leo. "It's an honor to meet you."

Philippe bowed graciously towards her while Leo's eyes widened.

"Thank you," Allyria replied. "Likewise."

"Ah, Philippe…" Leo started "Could we talk...over here?"

He pointed to the furthest wall which was only 2 steps away.

"No Leo," Philippe replied. "I don't need to talk about this."

He looked at Allyria smiling.

"Respectfully your majesty," Philippe continued this time compromising with a curtsy. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help," she replied. "Katya has become…undesirable. We must stop her before this goes too far."

"I agree," Philippe smiled before giggling nervously. "I just ask not to be compelled; I mean there's no need. I have no issue with your kind."

"I can see that," Allyria smiled. "Nor do we with your kind. Witches and Vampires go way back you see."

"Ok Philippe," Leo started. "We don't know that we can trust her."

"It may interest you to know, that one of your witches is with my son right now," Allyria chimed in. "Constant always did have good taste."

Now Philippe did look at Leo. _Who in the world is Constant?_ He wondered to himself. _And how…_

But Allyria stopped his train of thought.

"Oh I keep forgetting he forsakes his name around people from this time," she laughed. "It does offend me, but you may know him better as…Alec?"

"Alec?" Philippe replied. "As in _Karlia's_ Alec?"

"I didn't know they were official," Allyria replied. "But yes he did advise he was seeing a witch named Karlia."

Leo looked at Philippe still skeptical of the vampire. After all he had always been advised never to trust different species such as Wolves, Vampires and Genies. There was nowhere near enough information and Genies had even proven themselves to be tricksters in the past.

"Come," Allyria beckoned. "I don't know about you, but this place screams claustrophobia. Let's away."

"After you your majesty," Philippe replied bowing again.

As Allyria made strides away from the room Leo and Philippe followed in-toe however Leo was quick to whisper to Philippe.

"Why do you keep calling her that?" he whispered.

"What?" Philippe asked.

"Your majesty," Leo replied. "And bowing all the time, why do you do that?"

"Because Leo," Philippe replied. "She's the queen! That and I trust her. Do you trust me?"

Philippe needed Leo to be on the same page as him. He fully believed in Allyria and her passion to destroy Katya.

"Of course," Leo replied. "They may not like it, but I'm with you now Philippe. I will always have your back."

Philippe smiled.

"I love you Leo," he said.

"I love you too," Leo replied.

Rounding another corner the threesome now entered what seemed to be a perfectly laid out board-room.

"This is…interesting," Philippe said looking around.

The room was unlike any other they'd seen in the mansion and almost didn't belong. The walls were painted black and matched the black carpet. A clear glass table with black legs sat in the centre of the room and it was so large that Philippe counted 20 black office-like chairs surrounding it. A bouquet of white anemone's sat on the centre of the table adding to their surrounding with their white petals and black centre's. The one thing Philippe noticed that connected this room to the others were the shelves and shelves of white roses strategically placed on the walls.

Philippe noticed Allyria take her seat at the head of the table and he rushed over to sit at the first chair to her right, Leo taking a seat next to him.

"Now then," Allyria began. "I trust that you are more comfortable than before, so regarding Katya the demon…"

Leo and Philippe leaned in to hear what Allyria had to say.

"*"

"Here's a pair of Philippe's sweat pants and some underwear," Selena smiled as she brought them in to Matt who was sitting in the living room now.

"Oh Selena, I could never-" Matt began.

"Seriously," Selena replied. "You can. Philippe has so many sweatpants he will never miss them."

"Thanks," Matt replied.

"Ok I'm going to make some coffee," Selena replied. "Do you want anything?"

"Coffee would be great," Matt smiled.

Selena turned on her heel and walked back to the kitchen. Never once did she question untying him. It had been so demeaning and cruel to leave him like that in the first place let alone continue to do so.

As she walked back in, she noticed Matt had not only changed but was looking at a recent Photo that sat on the mantelpiece.

"So this is Karlia right?" Matt asked intrigued.

The photo was taken one night at POT the three of them had decided to stick around after closing for drinks and Philippe had opted to take a photo of them all. Selena had been cautious about it at the time as she hated having her photo taken and more so having it displayed. But everyone including herself loved it so much that they agreed with Philippe's decision to place it there.

"You're at that place POT right?" Matt asked.

"Yeah," Selena replied. "Because Karlia works there we're there all the time."

Selena took the picture from Matt and placed it back onto the mantelpiece indicating that he should take a seat.

Matt looked at the tray Selena had set down. Not only was there coffee. There was also cream, sugar and milk as well as an assortment of cookies.

"Wow, you do go all out," Matt said, picking up his cup.

"Oh this is nothing, next time let's have our date here," Selena replied. "I'll cook."

Matt sipped his coffee and looked up at her smiling.

"That sounds nice," he replied.

"Then it's settled," Selena smiled back. "Now, I believe you were about to tell me about your transition to being a wolf?"

Matt looked at Selena surprised.

"Your direct you know that?" he asked.

"Yep," Selena replied. "You'll learn to love it."

"I already do," Matt smiled placing his cup back onto the tray.

"Now, I was oh let's see…13 when I was turned-" he started.

"13?!" Selena blurted out shocked. "You were a baby!"

"I had just started high school," Matt replied. "It was on my first day actually, I was bored and didn't have any friends, but I was used to that. So at lunch time I went over to the sports grounds and just walked around. There was a patch of trees that bordered the place and I had heard the sound of a girl screaming, so I raced over to see what was happening."

"How very noble of you," Selena replied appreciating his instincts.

"Well it turned out there was no one there," Matt replied. "But just as I was about to leave a wolf, that I thought was a dog at the time, scratched me."

He lifted up the jacket and made a scratching motion to the right of his abdomen.

Selena didn't know which reaction hit her first but she was flushed seeing his ripped chest, saddened to hear what had happened and intrigued to see no scratch marks still there.

Thinking that would be the more sensible remark, she enquired.

"But there's nothing there," she replied.

"Yeah. That's another thing," Matt answered. "Wolves heal quickly, almost too quickly."

"Oh," Selena replied. "Guess that's something they left out of our make-up."

"Don't knock it Selena," Matt replied. "Imagine how it would feel to be in excruciating pain, but see nothing there not even a mark. It took me quite a while to get used to it."

"I guess you're right," Selena replied. "So you still _feel_ the pain, it's just not visible?"

"Exactly," Matt replied. "I felt the scratch all day. It made for an embarrassing moment when I told the school nurse and she threw me out telling me that lies will not get me anywhere."

"Yeah that would suck," Selena replied. "So when did you work it all out?"

"Well that night actually," Matt replied. "Turned out I got scratched on the full-moon so I turned hours later. Of course waking up the next morning in the middle of nowhere stark naked and not having any recollection of what happened was tough, but in time I learned to deal with it."

"How?" Selena asked, nearly on the verge of tears. "How do you deal with something like that?"

"I was lucky enough to meet Zandra," Matt replied.

"Zandra?" Selena asked, pouring herself another coffee.

"Yeah, this lady came to my history class the next day asking to see me," Matt chuckled recalling the memory. "Said she needed to see me about extracurricular work."

"That's a nice touch," Selena appreciated. "More coffee?"

"Yeah thanks," Matt replied, draining what was now left of the cold coffee and handing the cup to her.

"So she explained the whole thing and took me to meet Randolph," he finished.

"Randolph?!" Selena asked, passing the re-filled cup back to Matt.

"The guy who turned me," Matt replied taking a sip. "He's the Alpha, the leader of my pack."

Selena took a moment to let it all sink in. Yes Matt was a wolf, yes he hadn't told her, but at the same time he never wanted this. He was made a wolf, just like she was made a witch. Without any choice, it just happened.

"So you never chose this life?" she asked.

"No," Matt replied. "It was thrust upon me. Not that I would take it back now, I have more friends than I ever could dream of and their loyalty is better than any I've ever known."

"So do you have to do stuff you don't want to do?" Selena asked.

"Huh?" Matt questioned, not really understanding her.

"I mean like errands and fighting against people and all that," she responded.

"Oh no, nothing like that," Matt assured. "I mean ok when we're threatened we need to deal with the threat but otherwise it's a good life."

Selena smiled. It had been a while since she had even thought of the words 'good life' let alone uttered them out loud. The world of magic had been quite undesirable. In fact aside from Leo who she had grown to like over the course of the past week, there seemed to be no advantage to being a member of the power of three at all. If anything it felt like they were being used more than anything else.

"Do they-" Selena started and then paused for a moment.

"Go ahead," Matt replied. "I'm an open book."

Selena appreciated that and the more he spoke the more she found herself falling for this guy. Not only the superficial stuff like good looks and cologne that made her swoon, but also fierce loyalty, bravery, standing up for what's right and sheer passion.

"Do they let you fall in love?" she asked timidly.

"Oh yeah," Matt replied. "Love is something they don't mess with provided the loved ones keep our secret."

"But what if," Selena started. "Say you fell in love with a demon?"

"Again they wouldn't care, provided they-"

"Kept your secret," Selena repeated saddened that her side wasn't as open to the idea.

Just then a light bulb went off in her head.

"Hey," she remarked. "Turn me."

As Selena leant forward hoping for a scratch Matt jumped backwards revolted at the thought.

"Selena," he said seriously. "You don't want to be a werewolf."

"Why not?" she asked. "You make it sound so thrilling!"

"It is," Matt confessed. "But the…side-effects…aren't worth it. Turning is not only uncontrollable but also very, very painful."

"Oh," Selena replied, quickly shifting backwards into her seat.

"Besides," Matt replied. "While we roam around only fighting to protect the pack, you guys have been given actual powers and the chance to help the world. I would never give that up."

"Walk a day in my shoes before you say that," Selena replied.

"Likewise in mine before asking to be turned again," Matt laughed.

Selena couldn't help but smile. Normally she was the quick-witted one in the family and yet here he was one-upping her. It was a nice refreshing change.

"So, about us…" she started. "Do you think it can work?"

"*"

"It's ok Alec…or should I say Constant? I'm a little confused on that part," Karlia admitted to her date. "But I'm fine, see not even a mark."

She showed Alec her neck and indeed since Leo had healed it there was not even a trace of evidence showing he had bitten her.

"But I… _bit you!_ " he replied.

"Yes you _did_ ," Karlia answered. "But I have a few secrets of my own…obviously."

She looked over at the door still wondering how it had happened.

"Karlia I want to tell you everything," he said. "You deserve to know it all, it's just we're not safe here."

"I know," Karlia replied. "So let's stick to the basics. First what is your name?"

"My vampire name," Alec replied while Karlia's eyes widened. "Is Constant, my human name is Alec."

"Ok well since you were born as Constant I'll call you that," Karlia replied. "Second, why did Katya recruit you guys?"

"She wanted protection," Constant replied.

"Why did you accept?" Karlia asked.

"She offered us the blood of all her victims in return."

"Which explains why you were so eager to bite me," Karlia mused.

Constant made to move but then realized he was still frozen.

"Karlia, unfreeze me please," he asked. "We can walk and talk, but we must keep moving."

Karlia nodded, she knew she could trust him. She didn't know how but she knew she could.

 _A spell was chanted to freeze this man_

 _But his legs are needed please._

 _All of good witches stand behind me_

 _Help me and allow him to unfreeze._

Like the melting of ice on a particularly balmy day whatever was keeping Constant frozen began to wear off. Little by little, starting with his arms and hands and working down to his feet he unfroze.

"Thanks," Constant replied and without thinking hugged Karlia.

"You're Welcome," she replied kissing him in turn.

Constant smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Ok, let's move," Karlia said remembering his warning.

As they walked out of the bedroom she continued the interrogation she had started.

"So why did your family accept?" she reminded.

"Well my parents wanted to accept the offer as we are actually running low on, ah, supplies." He replied.

"It's ok," Karlia said. "You can say blood."

The moment it came out of her mouth, she knew it was true. She may not have known everything about Constant, but she was falling for him and quite heavily and this in turn was allowing her to cope with everything about him and who he was.

Alec smiled sheepishly.

"Well yeah, blood," he admitted. "And no one good or evil wants to work with us, so it was too good an offer to refuse."

"Sounds like it was your _only_ offer," Karlia replied as she pushed open the door into the next room.

"It was," Alec agreed.

The next room was some sort of music rehearsal room. Instruments scattered the walls from Piano's and Drum kits through to flutes and clarinets. The doorway out was even shaped like a cello with strings hanging down to create a curtain similar to the Indian beaded style but with cello strings.

"Wow I so judged this guy too quickly," Karlia admitted not helping to look around.

"How could you?" Constant asked. "His design taste was flawless for the time."

"Yeah, yeah," Karlia shoed away, she would deal with history another time.

"Karlia," he started, grabbing her hands and looking at her. "I want you to know, despite everything you know, have seen or even heard that my love for you was always true."

"I know Constant," she replied. "I feel like I've always known. Not to be all mushy but, you connect in a way that no one else has with me."

"Or me," Constant agreed, kissing her once more.

"I promise," Karlia started pulling back. "We will find a way to work everything out. I may be bound to good, but it's not fair that you are being forced to choose because you're out of food. We'll fix this, I promise."

She kissed him again this time lingering much longer.

"*"

"Ok so I have a plan on how we can destroy Katya once and for all," Allyria said.

"And we're all ears," Philippe replied smiling.

"But there are a few gritty details we need to deal with first," Allyria continued.

Philippe and Leo looked at each other before looking back at the Queen.

"First of all we need to ensure that my sister Chessie does not get wind of this happening. She is Katya's best friend and in truth, the reason Katya was brought back to life."

"Chessie's a vampire too right?" Philippe asked.

"Why did she need Katya to come back?" Leo asked.

"Both good questions," Allyria replied. "To answer yours Philippe, yes Chessie is a vampire. She is my younger sister and was turned not too long after I was."

She then turned to Leo.

"To answer your question Leo," she continued. "When our father the vampire king passed on there was a void that needed to be filled. As our mother had already passed and being that they only sired daughters it was to fall to one of us. My sister did everything she could to convince them she was the rightful queen, however seniority won-out in the end and I was crowned. Since then my sister sought revenge by aligning herself with evil."

"Jealousy is an ugly, ugly thing," Philippe remarked.

"Indeed it is Philippe," Allyria agreed. "Naturally she tried to align herself with many a demon or warlock but none of them were even remotely interested. That was until she met Katya. As Katya had her own intentions to become queen of the underworld…I believe you would call that person the source…am I right?"

Both nodded.

"She was more than happy to take my sister under her wing. The pair of them were trouble from the start and even planned to burn down our kingdom, however the _former_ power of three foiled that plan as they vanquished her a week before they were due to carry out their plans."

"That explains a lot," Leo replied.

"It does?" Philippe asked.

"Well yeah," Leo confirmed. "Without Katya, Chessie wouldn't have all the power she needed to burn the kingdom. Naturally she'd want her back."

"Quite so Leo, quite so," Allyria replied. "She worked day and night until she found the cure and brought her back eventually. As gratitude for her revival Katya set Chessie up with a job at some restaurant and promised they'd seek revenge soon. However as time passed our kingdom started lacking in everything they needed. Blood supplies were at an all time low and finances were nowhere near what they once were. So Katya and Chessie devised a plan to take over the world."

"And let me guess," Philippe interrupted. "Step one, procure the emerald jewel."

"Exactly," Allyria confirmed. "Once either of them had acquired the jewel the other would have the power to destroy not only our kingdom but any that took their fancy. Naturally we knew we had to stop them at all costs."

"But then," Philippe pondered aloud. "Why join her?"

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Leo replied.

Philippe shot a wry smile at his lover before turning back to Allyria.

"He's right," she agreed. "We needed to infiltrate Katya's…residence…if you can call it hers… and discover her plan so that we could thwart it."

"But we stopped Chessie from getting the Jewel!" Philippe answered. "Karlia has it."

"Oh well indeed," Allyria replied. "That does changes things. I just assumed Chessie would have it by now."

"No," Leo replied. "Karlia summoned it from her moments after she took it from its resting place."

"Oh but that's wonderful!" Allyria replied clasping her hands together and rising from the table. "Ok, well we're just about set. I just need to tell you one more thing and it's a little hard to say."

"Take your time your majesty," Philippe coaxed politely.

"Thank you Philippe," she replied. "You are too kind. For you see gentlemen, my husband holds the key to her vanquish."

Leo looked at Allyria in surprise.

"What does Ettore have to do with this?" Leo asked.

Allyria smiled at the white lighter knowing his name.

"Who?" Philippe asked.

"Ettore is the man we saw earlier with Katya, he is also the vampire queen's husband," Leo rushed quickly.

"Yes my darling husband befell to a curse placed on him by… _her_ ," Allyria advised.

"What?" Philippe cried out. "How?"

"To make the transformation back into the living comes with a price Philippe," Allyria replied. "It's different with every species. For demons they need to have a living bond to someone."

"But wouldn't Chessie?-" Philippe started.

"Chessie?" Allyria laughed. "She'd just as soon stake herself before offering to be a living bond! No, instead she stole blood from my precious Ettore and used him as the bond."

"And the only way to vanquish Katya for good," Leo started. "Is to stake Ettore."

"Precisely," Allyria frowned. "It is not something I wish to think about but you must know this before we vanquish her."

"Well we'll just not vanquish her," Philippe replied. "Your majesty, I'm sure there's another way."

"Alas Philippe there is not," Allyria advised. "I have searched since I first discovered this information and suffice it to say this is the only way."

Philippe's emotions went from pleased, to saddened to morose. This was terrible news and definitely must have been heartbreaking for the queen.

"Now Constant does not know about this," she continued. "So if you'll allow me a moment with him first then we can do some quick stake training at a neutral location and then end this once and for all."

"Of course your majesty," Philippe replied. "We can use my place."

"You are too kind Philippe," Allyria acknowledged. "Thank you."

"I'm just so sorry about all this," Philippe said.

"Me too Philippe," Allyria replied sadly. "Me too."

"*"

 _Well there we go!_

 _A chapter filled with explainations from Matt, Alec and Allyria!_

 _So what did you think about Matt's discussion with Selena? What about Alec's with Karlia? And what did you think of Allyria and the curse on her husband? Did you know Chessie was partially behind all this?_

 _Please review and let me know._

 _And now onto chapter 9…._


	9. Chapter 9: Stake Training

_Hey Guys,_

 _Welcome to the second last chapter for this 3_ _rd_ _book in the series! Can you believe we've made it this far already?!_

 _Well let's get into it shall we?_

 **The Power of Three A Lover's Day/Night.**

 **CHAPTER NINE – Stake Training.**

"Now then," Allyria began walking towards the exit of the board-room. "Constant and Karlia are this way. Follow me."

Leo and Philippe rushed to keep up with the queen who herself was making quite a smart pace.

"Can you sense them also?" Leo asked.

"No Leo," Philippe replied. "She can _hear_ them. It's one of the greatest vampire gifts there are."

"I see someone's done their homework," Allyria acknowledged continuing her quick pace.

The threesome continued walking passing rooms they had seen before. The foreboding room they were locked-up in, the room they had first spied Katya in yesterday, the stairs that Philippe recalled lead up to the gorgeous dining room and into the bedroom that Leo had seen with Karlia.

"My, my, this guy's mansion continues to amaze me," Philippe couldn't help but remark as they smartly rushed through the room and out the exit on the other side.

"Yes Radwick was quite blessed with talented decorators wasn't he?" the queen acknowledged, pausing briefly to think. "I believe it was the Adamson family. Yes that's right, Pearl, Abigail, Brendan and Bryce Adamson. Very gifted indeed."

The queen looked up at the ceiling taking in an exquisite god and goddess design that looked down upon them before looking at the men.

"You know I almost arranged for them to decorate the castle," she admitted. "Their gift for knowing precisely what goes where always astounded me."

"What stopped you your majesty?" Philippe enquired.

"Sadly dear Philippe," Allyria replied. "Abigail, Bryce's wife, passed away before I could reach her. The men then decided they wanted out of interior design. It's so sad. I tried to hire my grandson to do it, but let's just say nepotism belongs in the arts."

"And not in decorating?" Philippe questioned.

"Well not in anything that could potentially have them changing your home in an undesirable way anyway." Allyria laughed. "Ah, he we are!"

Ahead of them stood a door that, as with the rooms themselves seemed to be decorated with a purpose. They were double doors painted to look as though from an eagle-eye view you were staring down at a huge grand piano.

As the queen pushed open the doors Philippe noticed Alec, who they now knew as Constant and Karlia kissing.

"Ah-he-hem," the queen cleared her throat.

Immediately the pair shifted apart both looking embarrassed.

"Mother?" Constant replied, being the first to speak.

"Yes hello dear Constant," Allyria answered.

Philippe and Leo rushed into the room and raced to Karlia's side just in time to hear her whisper something.

" _Mother?_ " she pondered.

"Um-hmm," Philippe replied quickly. "Queen of the vampire's be nice."

He took a step back allowing the queen to come face to face with the woman her son was dating.

"Oh my dear!" she smiled graciously. "You must be Karlia!"

"Yes…" Karlia replied nervously, looking at Philippe.

Quick on his feet Philippe mouthed back the words _your majesty_ to her.

"…Your majesty, Karlia Stappord. Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine Ms Stappord," Allyria replied. "Well, I do apologize for the lack of pleasantries, however we must be getting back to…to ah- Philippe's home?"

"Yes your majesty," Philippe replied then turned to Karlia. "We're going back to the power-port. Allyria has a plan to stop Katya once and for all but we need to do some training first."

"Hmmmm," Karlia replied with a very tight smile on her face. "Training. Sounds…fun."

"I'm so glad you think so," the queen replied either not noting the sarcasm or being too polite to address it.

"Your majesty," Leo interjected. "The fastest way to get there is to orb, but you'd all need to hold on to me."

"But there are too many of us to all hold on to you," Philippe realized.

"Ah but don't forget, I can orb," Karlia replied.

"Yeah once," Philippe recalled. "Acci-"

"Exactly," Karlia stopped him, not wanting Constant to know it was by pure accident. "Leo you take the queen and Philippe. I'll take Constant."

"I bet you will," Philippe replied out of the corner of his mouth.

Leo desperately wanted to object and he knew that the elders would have a field day going off at him for letting Karlia orb before she even had absolute control over it. But he recalled what Philippe had mentioned earlier.

 _I want you to be able to think for yourself_ , _them aside._

That had been what Philippe had wanted and Leo wanted to make Philippe happy. Besides, he personally had no objection and knew his only concern came from years of being told how to act and think by _them_.

"Ok we'll meet you back at the power-port," Leo smiled, looking purposefully at Philippe.

Immediately Philippe had recognized what Leo had done and couldn't help but beam. It was a proud moment for them and all independent white lighters everywhere.

"*"

"You're just perfect you know that?" Matt asked in-between kisses with Selena on the couch in the living room.

"You're perfect," she replied kissing him once more.

Just then chimes could be heard as not one but two lots of white and blue lights appeared.

"Two?!" Selena reacted jerking upwards. "That's never good."

She stood up and made her way over as the orbs disappeared. Selena's mouth fell open in shock as she looked at her friend.

"Karlia?!" she asked. "You j-just…"

" _Yeah orbed and doesn't want Romeo finding out she's new at it_ ," Philippe whispered to her quickly as he walked past.

" _Got ya_ ," Selena whispered back. "…couldn't stay away huh?"

"Oh I'm sorry Selena," Karlia replied sarcastically. "Play time with the wolf is over. We have work to do."

"Ok, wait," Selena replied holding up a hand and then pointing at Allyria. "Who is she?"

"Hello Ms Mullen," Allyria replied quite formally "I am Allyria, queen of the vampires."

"Ooooh kay then," Selena replied. "I think I need to lie down."

And quickly Selena sat back on the right side of the couch. With Matt in the middle, Selena now noticed Philippe was sitting on his left.

"Are those my sweat pants?" he asked casually.

"Oh yeah, sorry man," Matt replied.

"Don't worry about it," Philippe replied. "Plenty more where that came from that's for sure. It's just nice to see you… _dressed_ finally."

"Yeah, was about time I untied him," Selena answered.

"Excuse me, if you'll pardon the intrusion," the queen interjected. "We have some work to do. Now, if you don't mind I'd like a word with my son first and then we'll begin training."

"Training?" Selena asked looking at Philippe.

"Yep, fun times ahead," he replied. "Yeah that's fine your majesty, the conservatory should do or you can use the backyard either way is good with me."

"You _are_ too kind Philippe, thank you," the queen replied.

"Oh my god, where are my manners?!" Philippe demanded suddenly. "I'm so sorry your majesty; the conservatory lets in quite a bit of sunlight."

"That's quite alright Philippe," Allyria replied. "Constant, Ettore and I are one of very few that can walk in the day light. But thank you nonetheless." The queen replied before hurrying away with her son.

Karlia took a seat on one of the chairs facing the couch and Leo now occupied the one next to hers.

"Sooooo," Karlia cooed suggestively. "What's been going on here?"

Meanwhile Allyria and Constant had made their way into the conservatory to discuss the issue regarding his father.

"Mother?" Constant asked concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh fine," his mother replied. "That demon Katya is so distracted she hardly knows which way is up let alone my escaping."

"But what of father?" Constant pushed.

"Your father is still with her," she replied. "But that is why I need to speak to you. There is something you need to know, something I should have told you long ago."

Back in the living room Karlia was still taunting Selena.

"So did you give him Philippe's pants before or after your little chat?" she winked.

"Before thank you," Selena replied, trying desperately hard not to smile.

"I'm so sorry we had to leave you in that condition Matt, it wasn't very hospitable of me," Philippe barged-in trying quite hard to change the topic.

"It's ok Philippe," Matt replied. "As I told you before I understand."

"Well please know you are always welcome here," Philippe replied. "Any friend of Selena's is always welcome."

"You mean boyfriend?" Selena asked.

"Do I?" Philippe questioned.

"We just confirmed it yeah," Matt replied. "We're now official."

"That's awesome!" Karlia replied. "Congrats guys!"

Selena beamed while Matt thanked them. Philippe looked at Leo and raised an eyebrow questioning whether or not they should say anything also. Leo nodded so Philippe took the lead.

"Um, so…" he began. "Leo and I got to talking and…"

"Oh-my-god, oh-my-god, oh-my-god!" Karlia rushed excitedly.

"Ok calm down Karlia, I haven't even finished yet," he replied.

This stopped her right away.

"Don't tell me you discovered another demon?" she asked. "We've barely dealt with this one."

"No, no," Philippe replied. "We discussed our issues and well…"

"Yes?" Selena replied smiling, while Karlia looked moments away from bursting.

"We're official too," he finished.

"OH MY GOD!" Karlia yelled frightening everyone as she raced as Philippe pushing him back into the couch and hugging him with great force. "I'm so happy for you!"

Philippe was taken a little aback, but was happy to see her reaction nonetheless.

"Th-thank you Karlia," he stammered. "I really appreciate your support."

Karlia got up and raced over to hug Leo as Selena turned towards Philippe.

"It's about time!" she smiled and then turned to Leo who was still being hugged by Karlia.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," she said. "Welcome to the family Leo."

"Thanks Selena," Leo replied smiling.

Selena turned to Matt as Karlia somehow made her way back to her seat.

"See this is what happens when good gets its way," she smiled.

"Oh yeah," Karlia replied. "Speaking of good, Alec- I mean Constant, god that's going to be confusing."

She shook her head to refresh.

"Told me that Katya made his family an offer to go to evil if they helped her and the only real reason they agreed is because she said she would help them. Apparently they're running low on blood and Katya offered them the blood of all her victims."

"Gross," Selena replied.

But it was Matt who sat up straight upon hearing this news.

"Yes!" he replied. "She basically said similar to us! She promised us fresh meat, a place to sleep and of course the loyalty of evil."

"Loyalty of evil?" Leo enquired shocked to hear that they even knew such a word.

"Yeah, it's a big thing with wolves," Selena replied.

"Naturally," Philippe answered. "It's what makes each pack as strong as they are, but Matt why do you guys need evil? You have your pack."

"The meat and shelter," Matt replied. "We're running low on supplies and we basically have 2 caravans to share and that's it."

"Hmmm yes," Allyria replied from behind them making everyone jump. "We were low on supplies too and our castle is disintegrating more and more each day."

Everyone began to ponder what they could do for these poor people. After all they had all been so good to them, it didn't seem right that they should be forced to live the lifestyle they had at the moment.

Karlia however only had eyes for her beloved, who now looked like a train had hit him. Puffy eyes, red cheeks and tear streaks covered the once confident looking face.

"Constant!" she acknowledged racing up to him and giving him a supportive hug. "What's wrong?"

Philippe looked up at the queen knowing full well what was wrong.

"You told him?" he asked simply.

"Quite so," the queen replied and then turned her attention to Karlia. "Ah- Ms Stappord, there's a bit of an issue that we need to discuss…"

Despite the queen's trailing off, Karlia simply lead Constant to her seat and they sat together looking back up at her.

"Forgive me Ms Mullen and ah…" she realized she didn't know the man sitting with her. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've been introduced Mr. Wolf?"

Selena looked offended, but Matt smiled kindly.

"I'm Matt your eminence," he replied. "No need to ask who you are though your majesty we know of you quite well within the pack."

As graceful as he always was, Leo got up and offered the queen his chair.

Thanking him she sat down.

"Well," she chuckled slightly. "Dying breeds need to stick together don't we? I have of course met Randolph, lovely gentleman."

" _You_ know Randolph?" Selena questioned.

" _Who's Randolph?"_ Philippe whispered.

" _Alpha_ ,"Matt replied quickly.

"Got ya," Philippe smiled now looking back at the queen.

"Yes Selena," the queen replied. "He bought a lovely hand-crafted vase for my table. Quite a gentleman. The moment I was coronated he came along seeking asylum. Naturally I was only too happy to oblige. But I digress…"

She took a quick glance at her son. It pained her to see him looking so upset, but it couldn't be helped.

"You see Ms Mullen-" the queen started.

"Please your majesty, Selena," Selena interjected.

"Selena, Matt and Karlia, the reason why my son is so upset is that vanquishing Katya comes at a grave cost. As I have instructed Philippe and Leo, coming back into the living requires a price and it's different for everyone. With demons it's what's called a living-bond. They need someone tied to them to remain earth bound." She concluded.

"And," Selena replied. "Who is it your majesty?"

But it was not the queen who responded.

"It's my father," Constant whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Selena and Matt shared a look of shock, while Karlia held Constant securely, not knowing what to say.

"Hm-hm," the queen cleared her throat. "Sadly, what this means is that my beloved Ettore, Constant's father, must also be vanquished for without which we could never truly vanquish Katya."

"It's true guys," Philippe continued. "And there is no other way, I've already asked."

"*"

As hard as the situation was to deal with, the one thing everyone agreed on was that they needed to move and get everything ready to vanquish Katya. Not only had it been close to 48 hours since they first awoke but with Katya knowing Karlia had the jewel she wouldn't really have too many reasons to stick around and no one knew just how long Ettore could distract her.

Allyria had confided that Ettore didn't know about this and that even when he did find out he wouldn't be a willing victim to anyone including her. So not too much later Allyria, Constant, Karlia and Philippe were in the conservatory, the sun had gone down and Allyria had placed several cushions and stakes around the room.

"Now you want to aim directly for the heart," she instructed a very intrigued Philippe and Karlia as she held a red cushion in front of her and pointed to an area. "Like this."

With no trouble at all she shoved the stake through the cushion, flipping it over to reveal the pointy end coming out the other-side.

"Wow, she makes it look so easy," Karlia whispered.

"Don't forget vampires have super strength," Philippe whispered back. "And she's the queen."

Allyria pretending not to hear them removed her stake and turned to them.

"Ok so we'll have Karlia with…" the queen started as Karlia raced over to Constant.

The queen chuckled.

"Ah, no Karlia, you'll be with me," she finished. "Philippe will go with Constant."

"But Mother!" Constant wailed.

"Now, now Constant," the queen remarked. "How much work will actually get done if I put you two together hmmm?"

Everyone knew she was right and so Philippe and Karlia swapped places.

"By the way welcome to the family," Philippe smiled at Constant as the queen could be heard telling Karlia what she was doing wrong.

"Thank you Philippe," Constant replied. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me too," Philippe replied.

Constant picked up a purple pillow and held it out in front of himself.

"Ok, let's make like I'm a vampire," he started.

"But you are a vampire," Philippe laughed.

"Ok true," Constant smiled. "So let's make like this is a vampire and I'm a human holding him down."

"Now _that_ works!" Philippe replied, rounding a high kick to the pillow. "Heeeee-yaa!"

Philippe slipped over and fell to the ground. All eyes went to him, but as soon as he started laughing Allyria and Karlia went back to work as Constant held out a hand to help him up.

"It's not a demon Philippe, it's a vampire," he laughed.

"Yeah…right," Philippe replied still laughing. "Sorry. Ok vampire, stake, not kick. Got it."

Constant held the pillow out again and this time Philippe actually did a good job partially piercing the lining.

"Hey, there you go," Constant replied. "Good start Philippe."

"*"

Upstairs in the attic Matt was assisting Selena and Leo as best he could with potions and a spell to vanquish Katya.

"Well here she is in the book," Selena piped up.

"What?" Leo asked surprised looking up from the potion he was making.

"Why're you so surprised? Everything's in the book. Well…except for wolves…sorry honey." She said looking at Matt.

"That's ok," Matt smiled. "We're a different species like you said."

"But that's where I can make a special entry later," Selena replied. "If you'll help me."

"I'd love to," Matt smile.

Leo walked over to the book still stunned.

"It's just that Katya was never in the book before."

"Oh yeah?" Selena asked. "So how'd they read up on her last time?"

"The former charmed ones found her in a book at magic school," Leo replied.

"Magic School?" Matt asked.

"Later honey," Selena replied. "Later."

Selena and Leo quickly took a moment to read what had been written about the demon.

 _ **Katya**_

 _Katya was a low-level shape shifting demon who was looking to do everything to impress those in power as she felt unjustly treated by upper-level demons._

 _Katya used to work for demonic dark lords but then went rouge and was considered a powerful and unpredictable player in the underworld._

Below this information was a message written in neat scrawl.

 _Throw a potion consisting of hemlock root, wolfs bane and mandrake root – Paige._

"I tell you that Paige has helped us so much. I hope we get to summon her one day," Selena said.

"I'm sure someday you will," Leo replied. "Now the potion is just about ready I added some beetle toe for a little extra kick. Are there any spells?"

"No," Selena said, continuing to flip. "Not here but…Oh this would work!"

She looked down gleefully before taking out a pad and pen.

 _ **To Dismiss the Immortal.**_

 _To dismiss an immortal demon simply say the words below. Power of Three required._

 _Hear these words_

 _Hear this rhyme_

 _Spirits from the other side_

 _Take [Demon's] immortality now, we dismiss her/him_

 _Keep him/her over the great divide._

"Hey!" Selena piped up. "Leo, this is very similar to the summoning spell with just a few changed words."

"Interesting isn't it?" Leo replied corking some vials. "You see in their time the girls didn't need to dismiss an immortal to the underworld and keep them there because they never dealt with this sort of issue. But as with every spell, there is a spell and a reverse. This is basically the reverse to summoning the dead."

"Summoning the dead?" Matt asked backing away. "We're not doing that now are we?"

"No sweetie," Selena smiled. "Instead we'll be asking the dead to drag Katya to hell."

"Ah," Matt replied.

"Ok no…no…no…no…no," Selena continued flicking quickly now through the book. "No…no… Oh! A curse removal spell! Think it would work Leo?"

Leo, who had now corked the last vial raced over to the book and had a look.

 _ **To remove a curse.**_

 _Evil tampering is just not fair_

 _Take the curse out of there._

 _(Power of Three not required)._

"Hmmm," Selena said out loud sarcasm dripping with every word. "I wonder why. If this works I'm a monkey's uncle!"

"Well you're a werewolf's girl-friend," Matt chimed in.

"Touché," Selena replied writing it down quickly anyway.

"I might as well," Selena replied to a skeptically looking Leo. "You never know and besides what do we have to lose?"

"More importantly Constant and Allyria could have something to gain," Matt replied.

"I knew I loved you for a reason," Selena smiled quickly kissing her boyfriend before turning back to Leo.

Leo handed out potions to both of them and the three headed downstairs in search of the others.

"*"

Once back downstairs Selena couldn't help her widening eyes. Feathers were flying everywhere and what looked like at least 20 pierced cushions were stranded all over the place.

"Oh I am _so_ not cleaning this up!" she remarked.

The threesome walked into the conservatory to see Allyria and Constant each holding a cushion of their own while Karlia and Philippe made impressive movements towards them.

Karlia raced forward, did a forward flip in the air and shoved a stake right through the cushion Allyria was holding. Meanwhile Philippe darted towards the cushion and then did a flip over Constant's head before grabbing his neck in a vice-like grip and piercing his own successfully.

"Bravo you two!" the queen acknowledged. "See what you can manage in under half an hour when you put your mind to it?"

Karlia and Philippe beamed as Selena strode into the room.

"Wow, well done guys!" she beamed. "Philippe who knew?"

Philippe couldn't help the smile that remained on his face. The feeling of adrenaline was intense and he liked it.

"We ah," Matt began. "Have potions for everyone."

"Oh yes!" Selena replied, temporarily forgetting. "Thanks honey. We have potions, enough for 2 each."

Everyone gathered around taking potions. Matt looked at Selena not knowing what to do. Selena put her one of her vials into each of Matt's sweat pant front pockets and smiled mischievously before taking the ones he was holding.

"Darling where do I?" Constant asked, seemingly with the same issue.

"Generally we pocket them," Karlia replied. "So ah, Jacket pocket?"

Constant did as advised and Karlia called for attention.

"Ok, so the way I see it we'll have two groups," she said authoritatively. "The _vampire_ group which will be those who just did stake-training, Philippe, Allyria, Constant and myself. The other group can be the _Katya_ group which will be Selena, Matt and Leo."

Without responding everyone naturally gathered into the two groups.

"We'll go after Constant," Karlia continued. "Leo, the moment you see Katya bring Matt and get Philippe and myself will swap with him. In the meantime, if we see him first we can take care of that and come to you."

"Wow Karlia," Leo replied. "Sounds like a plan."

"Yep more than just a dumb-blonde hey?" Karlia replied.

"You never were any less," Philippe replied kindly.

As Selena and Matt stood along-side Leo, Allyria and Philippe placed a hand each on one of Karlia's shoulders while Constant placed his arms around her waist.

"Ok everyone, let's go," Karlia announced as both groups left the power-port headed to the mansion for the final battle.

"*"

The moment Karlia, Philippe, Constant and Allyria orbed into the mansion there was a sense of foreboding. Philippe noticed it right away.

"It's almost too…"

"Quiet?" Karlia offered.

"Yeah," Philippe replied. "Where's Katya raging about the jewel? Where's Ettore? It's almost like…"

"They've left," Constant finished.

"Left?" Allyria laughed. "Ettore wouldn't leave without me, I'm sure of that much."

Just then and at lightning speed a figure fell from the sky down on top of Allyria.

Philippe and Karlia had only just enough time to realize it was Ettore before he very swiftly staked his wife in the heart.

All the pair could hear was the sound of Constant screaming.

"Mother!"

"*"

 _Didn't see that one coming did you? So what did you think of these chapters? Let me know I can not wait to hear._

 _Also I will be doing an 'authors notes' at the conclusion of this book. Its something I like to do to wrap everything up nicely. If you have any questions about the book, characters or the series in general send them to me this week and I will add them to the author's notes questions list._

 **Next time on the finale of The Power of Three:** _With only one chapter remaining you may think you know the outcome but then again…_

 _(Philippe): "Don't tell me he's immune?"_

 _(Karlia): "Are you crazy?!"_

 _(Constant, darkly): "How dare you."_

 _And that's all in the first few moments. But then….what happens when Philippe finally meets Katya._

 _(Philippe, darkly): "It's about time we met."_

 _(Katya): "Is it?"_

 _(Leo): "Philippe! Watch out!"_

 _In a finale so consumed with drama…_

 _(Philippe): "Grams?!"_

 _(Selena): "Mom?!"_

 _(Karlia): "Toby?!"_

 _What stroke of magic could be the key finishing it all?_

 _(Philippe): "Great! The one time I wish I did know Latin."_

 _(Constant): "Let me see that."_

 _(Leo): "Philippe, that's the…"_

 _BEAT-BEAT-BEAT…..WHAT-IS-IT?_

 _The finale of Power of Three next week._


	10. Chapter 10: F-f-an?

_Hey Guys! And so another Monday comes by and with it the upload of the final normal chapter. Don't worry there is still one more to read as I have added an epilogue, however to spread things out the epilogue will be uploaded tomorrow night._

 _Thank you to everyone for your comments and questions, some of which will be answered in the Author's notes._

 _But for now here we are Chapter Ten…._

 **CHAPTER TEN – F-f-fan?**

Ettore, either realizing what he had done, or not wanting to be caught made to run towards the exit.

"I don't think so," Philippe said extending his fingers and freezing the elder vampire.

Karlia meanwhile was at Constant's side. The poor man was overwhelmed with sorrow.

"Mother, mother!" he cried shaking her as though this alone would wake her up.

Naturally, it didn't.

"Don't die mother, please don't die!" Constant wailed.

Philippe walked over to Karlia and tapped her on the shoulder beckoning her over.

"What?!" she whispered back demandingly.

"I know this is bad timing," Philippe started sympathetically. "But Ettore won't stay frozen for long. We need to get Constant to…"

"Are you crazy?!" Karlia yelled forgetting the close proximity to her boyfriend. "He just lost his mother Philippe! You really think he's going to be thinking about killing his father!"

At that Constant, who was cradling his mother's head, placed it back down and stood to face the two.

"No Karlia," he replied. "He's right."

"But Constant," Karlia interjected. "Your mother…she's…"

But try as she might she couldn't bring herself to say the words.

"I know," Constant replied. "But that doesn't make Philippe any less right. If we don't kill father we can't vanquish Katya and if we can't vanquish Katya, Mother's death…will be for nothing."

Karlia swallowed hard. She knew logically speaking that he was right and naturally he would want vengeance on anyone who killed his mother, their relationship and its closeness had been clearly evident. She knew he would eventually have to grieve, but if he was ready to do this now, who was she to stop him?

"How long will he stay frozen Philippe?" Constant enquired.

"I don't know," Philippe replied. "It's unpredictable, really."

Reaching down Constant picked up the stake that he had tossed aside earlier and looked at Philippe and his girlfriend with a murderous gleam in his eyes.

"Then I must do what needs to be done," he replied.

Constant walked over to Ettore and looked him up and down. It felt so precarious to be placed in this situation. Killing any parent seemed so wrong to him, especially after the century they had getting closer together. But this was not the man he knew, loved and respected. This man standing in front of him was nothing more than a stone-cold killer, willing to do anything including killing his wife to get to where he wanted to be.

"How dare you," Constant whispered darkly.

With one last look of loathing at his father, Constant pulled his stake back and with a forceful jabbing motion pierced it through his father's heart.

But Ettore didn't fall, nor did he look drained. If anything he looked completely normal.

"Don't tell me he's immune!" Philippe cried, rushing over to Constant.

Karlia in-toe rolled her eyes.

"No Philippe," she replied. "He's frozen. Believe it or not, you actually need to be the one to finish him off."

And then it dawned on him. Of course Ettore wasn't dead. Being in this frozen state was simply delaying the inevitable.

Normally in the case of a demon it would be only too easy to unfreeze the man and send him to hell. But Philippe had never killed anyone that wasn't a demon and as far as he was concerned vampires were neutral so this was no easy kill at all.

He turned to Constant.

"You ready?" he asked solemnly.

"I don't think I ever will be," Constant replied. "But this man is not my father. He crossed that line when he killed my mother."

Philippe placed his hand in Constant's reassuringly.

"You just say when ok?" he asked.

"Now Philippe," Constant replied. "Do it now."

Still holding tightly to the vampire, Philippe put his arm out, before putting his hand down and slowly bringing it back up.

Everyone's reaction was completely different.

On pure instinct Philippe flinched into Constant's chest not wanting to see the damage he had caused. Karlia looked on at Ettore horrified and Constant stared at his father almost wanting him to know, it was him who finally staked the man who had lived for over two centuries.

Unlike with Allyria, flames grew from the ground surrounding Ettore. The higher they grew the more he screamed out in pain until finally they had consumed him completely. With one final piercing yell the flames died to reveal nothing more than ash.

Philippe burst into tears though held Constant tightly. Karlia also wrapped her arms around him as the threesome cried their eyes out.

Turning his head Philippe noticed the ashes that were once Ettore now blowing away as though a gust of wind had suddenly appeared in the room and all too soon there was no sign of him at all. Stepping out of the embrace to leave the love-birds for a moment alone, Philippe headed back towards the entrance.

He could hardly look in Allyria's direction it was just too painful. He may have only gotten to know her quite briefly, but the impact she'd had on him, even then, had been profound.

Just as he passed the body, something caught his attention. It was the stake that Ettore had used to kill her. Clearly. fleeing in a panic had meant he had left it behind. Philippe took a look at it. It was definitely different to the ones they had used at the Power Port. This one, though clearly still wood, seemed to be colored silver. Philippe picked it up and began to inspect it.

If not for the silver coloring everything seemed normal until he found an inscription on one of the sides.

 _Ad vos nasci denuo_ it read.

"Great," Philippe whispered to himself. "The one time I wish I did know Latin."

Pocketing the silver stake, Philippe made a mental note to discuss this with Leo as soon as possible. After all, the cries coming from Constant now as he rushed over to his mother's body were so profound it felt like Philippe was being stabbed with the item he'd just pocketed.

"*"

Meanwhile Selena, Matt and Leo found themselves down in the basement, which of course Leo recognized from where he first saw Katya with Karlia.

"Who the hell is that?" Selena asked Leo.

What she had noticed was a plump good-looking woman in an all black dress with matching black stilettos talking to Katya. Her onyx and silver snow flaked necklace sparkled so brightly it was hard not to notice her.

"I have no idea," Leo replied. "I've never seen her before."

The two women started talking louder and now it was easy to hear what they were saying.

"Well that's not my fault Katya," the woman was saying. "I lead you to the jewel. Just because _you_ screwed up the plan doesn't mean I don't get my end of the bargain."

"Hold your tongue Chessie!" Katya snapped. "Lest I split it for you."

The woman took long strides pacing the room as though without a care in the world for Katya's threats.

"You don't scare me Katya ok?" she replied. "I have everything I need to make it on my own anyway. All I need from you is to uphold the agreement."

"The _agreement_ ," Katya spat back. "Was that I would claim the jewels powers and…"

"No, no," The woman interrupted taking a rolled-up scroll from out of her bustier and opening it. "As per the contract you signed in blood I remind you…"

She cleared her throat and began to read.

"Provided vampire Chessie leads demon Katya to the jewel she will own 10 of the demons minions."

She showed the paper to Katya now.

"See?" she said. "Signed and dated in blood and you _know_ what that means."

Selena turned to Leo.

"I don't," she whispered angrily realizing something else she didn't know. "What does it mean?"

"Faustian deals made with evils blood are binding," Leo replied. "If the demon doesn't hold up their end of the bargain they die."

"Just like that?" Selena asked perplexed.

"Yep, just like that."

Meanwhile Katya looked at a loss for what to do. But without thinking a second longer she clicked her fingers and 10 minions appeared.

"You have all served me well my dears," Katya said as she addressed them. "But you will now leave me and serve this lady."

As disdainful as the end of her message seemed Chessie didn't care at all.

"Yes come-come," she said to them all. "We have much to do."

With that Chessie jumped up to the highest window and then she was gone.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Katya asked them sharply. "To the vampire queens castle now, away."

All 10 did as they were told shimmering out almost instantaneously. At the same time Selena turned to Leo.

"Well we're here, she's alone…" Selena started.

Leo looked concerned, but Matt soothed him.

"Don't worry Leo," he said. "I've got her back. You go and get Philippe and Karlia, let's end this."

Without needing another word Leo orbed out to find the others.

"*"

"Guys we need to-" Leo started as he orbed in, but stopped when he saw Philippe, Karlia and Constant huddled together. "Where's…?"

He looked around for Allyria fearing the worst.

"Dead Leo," Philippe replied, now standing and walking over to his boyfriend and hugging him. "Ettore killed her."

"What?" Leo choked, shocked to hear it. "How?...why?"

"Later," Philippe replied, trying desperately hard to pull himself together. "Did you find Katya?"

"But Philippe-" Leo started.

Philippe however wasn't listening.

" _Did_ you find Katya?" he asked again.

"Yes," Leo replied, wiping away a tear that had now escaped his eyes. "She's with Selena and Matt."

"Well then," Philippe started looking at Karlia. "We have to go."

Karlia stood up and shot daggers at Philippe through her eyes. If looks could kill Philippe knew he wouldn't be standing anymore.

"We?!" Karlia asked. "You're kidding right? You want me to leave Constant here when-"

But Constant took her hand and stood up looking directly at her.

"Karlia, I appreciate what you're doing, really I do," he started. "But for mother's death to not be in vain, you have to go. You know they can't do it without you."

"He's right," Leo interrupted. "It's a power of three spell Karlia."

Karlia looked for a moment like she would object again. But the longing in Constant's face changed her mind.

"Ok my love," she replied looking up at him. "For you."

Constant gave Karlia a quick kiss and then she raced over to Philippe.

"I know this isn't easy for you," he said.

"Let's just go now, before I change my mind," she replied.

Not needing another word, Leo wrapped his arms around the pair and orbed them to the basement.

"*"

Once they arrived the first thing they heard was a loud crash followed by Selena screaming.

"Matt!" she cried, not at all noticing the others.

As they looked over everyone could see that Matt was face down on the floor, presumably flung against it by Katya. Speaking of Katya the woman smiled evily as she looked down at him.

"And stay down," she whispered darkly. "Betray me again and you'll be sorry."

As she looked up she noticed and immediately recognized Karlia, but didn't know who the others were.

"Oh my dear," she smiled fakely. "You've returned. How…delightful."

"Is it?" Karlia asked, no longer intimated by her. "No, I just wanted you to meet my friend here."

She smiled as she pointed to Philippe as though introducing a colleague to a friend.

"Charmed," Katya replied smiling rigidly.

"Katya," Philippe replied. "It's about time we met."

"A fan?" Katya replied sarcastically. "I'm sorry my dear I think I misplaced my pen."

"F-f-an-n?" Philippe sputtered laughing. "Hardly. No, I admire your reasoning to work with other breeds but besides that Ms I'll-destroy-empires-and-crumble-cities-and yet can't even open Pandora's box, no I don't find you to be anything less than a bug on everyone's shoulders."

"A bug huh?" Katya smiled enjoying his wit. "Well maybe you'd like-"

"What I'd like you can't give me," Philippe snapped, extending his arms and freezing her.

Looking around he noticed Karlia standing behind him, Selena meanwhile had bravely picked up Matt and dragged him over to Leo without Katya even noticing. Philippe looked back at Karlia smiling.

"Oh," she replied glaring. "You finally done taunting the demon?"

"Hey," Philippe replied. "It been over 10 years since that whole Pandora's box thing. Someone had to tell her how it is."

Before Karlia could even respond Selena came rushing over.

"Ok spell, spell," she rushed handing a sheet of paper with the incantation on it to each of her friends.

"Potions?" Philippe asked them.

"Check," Karlia replied.

"Ok then let's toast this demon," Philippe finished. "For Allyria."

"For Allyria," Karlia agreed.

"So how do we do this?" Philippe asked. "All three at once or one after the other?"

"One after the other," Selena replied. "Me, you then Karlia and then the spell."

"Ok," Karlia replied. "Let's do this."

Selena threw her potion at Katya it hit her and fell to the floor smashing, as smoke rose out of it Philippe threw his potion. This time the smoke turned into flames that surrounded her and finally when Selena threw her potion something completely different happened.

Out of the leaping flames materialized three ghosts. The first one was a teenage male, the second undoubtedly a mother-figure and the third…

"Grams?!" Philippe cried out in shock.

"Mom?!" Selena yelled surprised.

"Toby?!" Karlia cried.

The three ghosts glided over to what was clearly their counterparts.

"Toby! What are you doing here?!" Karlia asked.

"The spell requires a member of each family that has passed on," he replied smiling.

"Spell?" Karlia replied shocked. "You know about us?"

Toby smiled back at her, the calm _I'm always there for you_ smile she recalled from her younger days before tragically a car accident had taken his life.

"Of course I do sis," he replied. "I'm always watching over you."

Meanwhile Selena was just plain stunned and had no idea what to say. Her mother glided closer taking the lead.

"Selena," she smiled. "It's so good to see you."

"It's-" Selena replied, her voice breaking. "Good to see you too mum."

Selena's mother had only recently passed. It was a week before her birthday which was also a week before she had become a power of three member. One day, just like that, she'd had a heart attack and was gone. With her father having walked-out when she was 6, Selena had no other parental figures and her mother's passing had been quite hard on her.

"It's good to see you to my darling," her mother replied.

Philippe however was in several different frames of mind, least of which was the shock and surprise at his Grams being here. He didn't know what to say to her, what to ask or even what to do. Unlike the others Philippe's Gram's had lived a very long life and only passed away 2 months before he became a member of the power of three at age 69. She'd had a good life but eventually just couldn't hang on anymore and Philippe had been her executor and the one with the responsibility to pull the plug.

"It's ok Philippe," his Grams replied almost knowing what he was thinking. "I lived a good life and it's good to see I have passed down my gifts to you."

"You?" Philippe asked surprised. "I thought I got my gift from Piper?"

"Ah the power to freeze yes," his Grams admitted. "But the power and privilege of being a witch – that came from me."

Philippe didn't know how to respond to that so he simply smiled up at her.

"I see you correctly answered the password to my vampire kit," his Grams smiled.

"I did," Philippe smiled back. "Ingenious idea to use Daniela as the question."

"Tennis always was our life my dear," Grams replied. "But now of course this has taken over. I only ask one thing Philippe."

"Name it Gram's," Philippe said in return. "I'll do anything."

"Try to live as normal a life as possible," she finished. "Magic is special, wonderful and enchanting I know that, but life goes on in the mortal world also."

Once again Philippe smiled up at her, but Gram's now looked at Leo who was standing by his boyfriend.

"You've got a wonderful boyfriend there Philippe," she continued.

"I know I have," Philippe replied smiling at him. "He's an angel."

"And Leo," she said addressing him. "Head Philippe's advice will you? A white lighter is only as good as his _own_ gut instinct allows him to be. As Rosevelt once implied _no one can control you without your consent._ It's a good lesson to keep in mind."

"Thank you Ms Thompson I will remember that," Leo replied.

"Please dear, call me Gram's," she smiled. "After all if you two one day-"

"Grams!" Philippe interrupted. "We only _just_ got together!"

By now the trio had caught the attention of the others which had them fall silent. Selena was the first to speak.

"So, what happens now?" she asked.

"Well Selena," Gram's replied. "Once you say the spell the three of us will take her to where she is destined to go."

"The spell you have," her mother interjected. "Will keep her there with no possible way to return whatsoever."

At that Philippe took Selena's hand, who in turn took Karlia's and the three stood together reading the spell.

 _Hear these words_

 _Hear this rhyme_

 _Spirits from the other side_

 _Take Katya's immortality now, we dismiss her_

 _Keep him/her over the great divide._

A great gust of wind picked up and the three ghosts circled Katya. Then faster and faster they circled as she became unfrozen.

"No!" she cried. "What are you doing?"

"It's time for you to go back where you belong demon!" Grams yelled out in a voice frightening even Philippe.

With one final cry from Katya a vortex opened up in the ground below her and swallowed her whole.

The gust of wind died instantly and everyone took a breath before noticing their counter-parts facing them once more.

"Keep safe," Toby said smiling at his sister.

"A witches power is a blessing, embrace it," Selena's mother said.

"But also have a balance of normality," Grams finished.

"Blessed be," they all said together and slowly but surely faded away.

As Philippe watched his Grams fade away he felt sad, but also knew he would enquire as to how to conjure her if ever he needed her wisdom. Just as Grams was about to disappear completely she yelled out.

"Don't forget the stake!"

And then like the others faded to nothing.

"*"

With the basement now cleared of everyone bar the Power of Three Matt and Leo, everyone seemed at a loss for what to say. With Katya gone it should have been a pleasure filled moment. They'd met their objective after all, but none of them could think about that right now.

Selena was focused on Matt who was developing a huge bruise on his back as well as a scar on his arm.

"Don't worry," he said faintly to her. "I told you, I'm a quick healer remember?"

"But it's not going away honey," Selena replied. "Maybe Leo should-"

"I tell you what," Matt interjected. "If I'm not fully healed by tonight, Leo can do whatever he needs to ok?"

Selena smiled. She appreciated where he was coming from on both a wolf front and a masculine one also and helped him up.

"Philippe," Karlia said at last, taking him out of his over analytic brian. "What did your Gram's mean when she said don't forget the stake?"

She looked worried and feared Philippe trying to stake Constant. Despite knowing he wouldn't on principal alone, she hadn't heard what his Gram's had said to him and if she had a convincing enough story from her, Karlia could say goodbye to her relationship.

"Oh!" Philippe recalled, taking the silver stake out of his pocket. "Leo, this is the stake the killed Allyria-"

"What?!" Selena yelled out.

"Allyria's dead?" Matt asked clearly freaked out.

Leo however took the stake and had a look at it while Karlia explained what had happened earlier to the others.

"See this side here," Philippe was explaining to Leo. "That's definitely Latin, but I have no idea what the hack it means."

" _Ad vos nasci denuo_ ," Leo read aloud. "Philippe where did you find this?!"

"It was lying next to Allyria's body," he replied.

"Why?" Karlia asked, having now finished explaining to the others and being intrigued by Leo's response.

"Well the literal translation is _To be born again_ ," Leo replied. "This is a special stake it was formed by the Roman gods centuries ago."

"Could it help Allyria?" Karlia asked hopefully.

"It might," Leo replied. "It just might."

"*"

"Well, out with it," Karlia demanded. "We don't have all day."

"Long ago when vampire first roamed the world the gods believed that there would come a time when a vampire would be staked that deserved another chance," Leo began. "Some factions believed a curse would prompt a dark vampire to kill a light one, while others were determined to believe that not all vampires would be a threat to humanity and that some would actually be saviors."

Leo looked at the stake turning it over and over in awe as he continued.

"But there was a faction that believed vampires could never be good, kind and benevolent and so arguments began over what to do. Finally they came up with this stake as a compromise and hid it in an undisclosed location to be discovered by whomever free will determined it to be."

"Free-will is a person?" Selena asked skeptically.

"No Selena," Leo replied. "Free will is as we know it to be today the ability to act at one's own discretion. Legend has it that whomever weilds the stake may use it only once for a temporary kill and then use it again when they are ready to revive the temporarily deceased."

"Which is why Allyria never faded to dust like Ettore," Philippe recalled.

"Exactly," Leo replied.

He turned to Karlia and handed the stake to her.

"Karlia, if Ettore staking Allyria was the first time this stake was used then she actually can come back."

Karlia's eyes widened. How could it be that these god's would know of this terrible fate that had befallen Allyria.

There was only one thing left to do.

"Leo," she said. "We need to get back to Constant, right now."

With Selena back to nursing Matt, Karlia put her free hand down to touch her orbing the three of them back to Constant. Philippe and Leo quickly followed.

"*"

Constant meanwhile was still hunched over his mother's body when Karlia orbed in.

"Constant," she started. "I-"

But her boyfriend wiped the tears from his face and walked over to her looking quite grim.

"Did you," he started weakly. "Did you get her?"

"Yes my love," Karlia replied. "We did. But there's more."

Constant looked down at the stake Karlia was holding and raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that the stake that my father used to kill my mother?" he asked.

Just then Leo and Philippe orbed in and without waiting Leo spoke directly to the man.

"Constant, what do you know about the _cycle-stake_?" he asked.

Karlia looked at Selena as both mouthed the words they hadn't yet heard was the name of this object.

"It's a-a legend!" Constant replied competing heavily between sketisim and hope. "Father told me about it many times. It was something he could only dream of discovering. Apparently it was named for it's use as the cycle-stake is meant to bring back the first killed."

Then it dawned on him.

"Y-you don't mean…?" he stammered. "You can't m-mean…"

He turned the stake over in his hands finding the Latin phrase Leo had read before.

"So… _it's true_?" he stammered again in disbelief. "It actually _does_ exist!"

"Yes Constant," Leo replied smiling. "It does and if your mother _was_ the first to be staked by it…"

Constant's eyes widened and looked at the stake as the entire revelation hit him.

"We have to stake her!" he cried, smiling hopefully as Karlia wiped away an escaping tear at his joy.

"But isn't that what we're trying not to do?" Matt asked looking up at his beloved.

"Normally yes," Selena replied. "But this is a special stake sweetie. You rest up."

Matt smiled and closed his eyes comforted by his girlfriend's touch.

Constant strode over to his mother and Karlia followed him. As great as the news was she knew there was no way it would be easy for him to get the job done.

She wasn't wrong either.

Determination left his eyes as he got to his mother's side and he looked at Karlia.

"If you didn't know any better," he started. "You'd think she's sleeping."

"Sometimes it's the ones that are asleep that need to be awoken before the miss the beautiful day ahead," Karlia smiled sweetly.

Constant nodded in appreciation.

"Please don't leave my side Karlia," he said.

"I never will," Karlia promised. "I'll always be there."

With that Constant threw his arm up into the air and brought the stake crashing down into his mother's heart.

Gasping furiously Allyria opened her eyes.

"Quick Leo, heal her," Philippe cried.

Leo didn't need telling twice and he rushed over to Allyria, pulled the stake out and healed the wound instantly.

"See honey?" Selena asked Matt turning his head so he could see. "That's called white-lighter healing."

Matt smiled up at Selena as Leo stepped back to allow Constant and Karlia a moment with Allyria.

Philippe walked over to his boyfriend and hugged him.

"It's good to be neutral sometimes isn't it?" he asked his boyfriend.

"Yeah," Leo replied. "It really is."

"*"

 _Naww what a nice way to end the chapter._

 _So what did you think? Pretty please review and let me know._

 _Tomorrow night I'll upload the epilogue. Till then my friends xoxo._


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue -**

About an hour later everyone was back at the Power Port and the mood had definitely lifted with the revival of Allyria.

"Lemon?" Selena asked the queen after she'd poured some tea for her.

"Oh yes please Selena," Allyria replied. "I simply cannot thank all of you enough for your hospitality and of course for bringing me back."

"You were never destined to die," Karlia replied. "We all believe that."

"Thank you Karlia," the queen expressed gratefully. "Yes two centuries is a little young to pass on I agree."

Everyone smiled politely.

"Well, I'd better take the stake up to the elder's," Leo chimed in. "Thank you for allowing me to do this Allyria."

"You're welcome Leo," Allyria replied. "Besides hopefully they can use it to study how to bring about some more. It would be nice to have an extra set on hand just in case."

Leo smiled and orbed away to deliver the stake.

Just then the sound of a cell phone could be heard and Allyria walked calmly over to her handbag. Fishing it out she answered.

"Hello?" she asked politely.

But quite quickly her expression changed as she then looked rather concerned.

"Oh," she replied. "Oh, I see."

Frowning themselves in concern none of the five remaining could help but look towards her.

"Well I suppose there's nothing that can be done then?" she queried. "Right…indeed…well, thank you for letting me know."

Allyria hung up the phone and glumly turned to face the others.

"Your majesty?" Philippe enquired concern dripping with each word.

"It seems," Allyria began taking a seat once more. "That my sister Chessie has now taken over the castle."

"What?!" everyone chorused, shocked to hear it.

"Indeed," Allyria replied. "Apparently her minions are guarding each entrance and we are no longer welcome."

"What does this mean mother?" Constant asked. "What about the kingdom?"

"I don't know Constant," Allyria replied. "I just don't know."

Just then Leo orbed back into the room.

"The elder's were quite intrigued when I handed them the stake," he said. "They also weren't pleased we were working with the vampires."

"And what did you say to that?" Philippe asked.

"I told them that it was in everyone's best that we remain loyal to them as they offer more then they will ever know." He replied.

Philippe rose from the couch and hugged his boyfriend.

"Honey!" he said. "I'm so proud of you."

Leo smiled; certainly he felt the weight of repression being lifted from his shoulders.

"Well thank you Leo," Allyria replied. "Although that doesn't really solve out dilemma. With Chessie having taken over the castle I don't know how we'll survive let alone work together."

But Philippe looked back towards his partner.

"Did you get it?" he asked.

"Yep," Leo replied smiling.

Philippe turned back to Allyria.

"Your majesty, we may be able to help you there," he said.

"Really?" Allyria replied. "Well, I am all ears."

Philippe smiled, recalling himself saying that to her not so long ago.

"Leo and I would like to make you an offer, but it comes with a contingency."

"Oh," Allyria replied. "I see."

"Provided you can offer asylum to the wolves in Matt's pack also, we'd like to offer you both the deed to Bloodworth's mansion."

"Are you joking?" Allyria replied, simply gob smacked. "How-How is that even possible?"

"The mansion was actually left to the elder's," Leo replied.

"Now before you say no," he continued noting the look on her face. "They have agreed to sign the deed over to you and to Matt's pack. It's obligation free of course you don't need to work with good or evil you'd be free to live your own lives and they've consented to put protection spells around the mansion to ensure your safety. Think of it as a sort of Olive branch for everything that's happened up until now."

"Oh Leo!" Allyria cried. "How could I ever thank you?"

"By accepting," Philippe replied now handing a tied up scroll to her which contained the deed to the mansion.

"Oh I do," Allyria replied. "I absolutely do! And of course Matt's pack can stay with us, I've always offered asylum to wolves and would be thrilled to live with them."

"Matt?" Philippe asked. "How do you feel about that?"

"Your majesty," Matt began shocked. "I accept your humble offer and will of course pass it on to my pack."

Matt shook the queen's hand and she unfurled the scroll, signing at the bottom making everything official.

"*"

Hours later and everyone was outside Bloodworth's mansion waiting for Randolph and the rest of Matt's pack to arrive.

"That's a nice thing you guys did for them," Selena said to Philippe as two shabby looking caravans came up the drive.

"It's the least we can do," Philippe replied. "Besides they're all family now."

As the caravans came to a halt, Matt got out and not too much later an older male with short brown hair and a chiseled square jaw dressed in a white tee and leather jacket followed him.

"Your majesty," Matt began as he neared Allyria. "Thank you once again for this tremendous offer."

"You're very welcome Matt," Allyria replied and then turned to the alpha. "Randolph! Lovely to see you again."

"Your majesty," Randolph replied. "This is so generous you always were gracious. My pack and I thank you and of course we have something for your table."

Steeping out of one of the caravan's now were two women one with long blonde hair and the other with short black hair. Both were carrying a lecturn that had been fashioned out of wood and had the carving of a vampire patting a wolf carved into it.

"Oh my goodness!" Allyria replied. "It's beautiful!"

"We're glad you like it your majesty," Randolph replied. "We all worked on it together."

"I know the exact place to put it," the queen remarked.

As the new pack starting moving their things in the power of three decided to help out. Naturally Selena helped Matt and the blonde woman, while Karlia and Constant helped the lady with short black hair. Meanwhile Philippe was helping Randolph as Leo and Allyria prepared drinks for everyone.

"There's not that much to carry," Randolph advised. "Comes from many years of living in caravans, not much room really."

He laughed and Philippe joined in.

"I'm just happy we could help you guys out," he replied. "For too long wolves have been kept in the dark. It's nice to see you guys not only finally having a residence but also working mutually with the vampires."

"Philippe what you have done," Randolph began. "Is something our father's could only have dreamed of. I can assure you it wont ever be forgotten."

Randolph held out his hand to shake Philippe's. But Philippe being Philippe forwent the hand shake and threw his arms around Randolph in a hug.

"I hug…a lot," he said to the wolf. "I hope that's ok."

"Absolutely Philippe," Randolph replied. "And please know we will always be here whenever you need us. You have shown us great respect and we offer back our loyalty."

"Coming from an alpha I really appreciate that," Philippe replied. "Thank you."

"*"

Not too much later, everything the wolves owned had been brought into the mansion. Karlia had already claimed her favourite room for Constant, insisting he take that one for memories sake, but really wanting it for the TV. Allyria had claimed the master bedroom and both could be found in the west wing of the mansion.

This left the east wing to the wolves and despite there being 7 of them in total everyone ended up with a room to themselves, the largest going to Matt in gratitude of the power of three and knowing that Selena would come over to visit.

By now everyone was sitting in the casual sitting room drinking coffee and tea and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. A fire crackled nearby and the warmth they felt physically was also very much felt spiritually between them all.

Just then the door bell rang and Allyria got up to see who it was with Constant following her. As the sitting room was to the left of the main entrance the rest positioned themselves to see who it might be.

As Allyria opened the door she was surprised to notice her sister standing there. Though she was shocked, years of royalty as the queen had taught her not to react to potential enemies.

"Chessie," she stated simply.

"Your majesty," Chessie began in a state of panic. "The castle…it…it…"

"What is it Chessie?" the queen asked in a bored tone not at all seeming concerned. "What's happened now?"

"It burned to the ground," Chessie replied. "All of my minions have been killed. I only just got out alive."

"I see," Allyria replied, looking at Constant who reflected a look of confidence back at her.

"Well, what do you plan on doing now?" she asked her sister.

"I have nowhere to go," Chessie replied. "I'm…I'm sorry for the havoc I've caused."

"Havoc?" Constant questioned. "That's what you're calling this?!"

The queen placed her arm around her son's shoulder.

"Constant dear," she said warmly. "Why don't you go back to the others? No doubt they'll be wanting a refill hmmm?"

Constant didn't like the fact that Allyria was so obviously shooing him away, but he followed his mother's orders anyway leaving the entrance hall at once.

"Chessie," Allyria finally replied. "I am most aggregied at what you have done and I almost don't want to forgive you. But what sort of a queen would I be if I didn't?"

Chessie beamed.

"Thank you sister," she replied desperately. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," the queen replied. "I'll grant you asylum, however for committing the crime of heresy you will be punished."

She turned to the sitting room and called out.

"Parvati! Jeremy!" she cried out as two of the cubs from the pack raced to her side. "Arrest this woman for the crime of treason to her people. She shall be locked away until a time to determine sentencing can be arranged."

Parvati and Jeremy did exactly as they were told as they walked Chessie to the chamber that Philippe and Leo had been locked in earlier.

"*"

It was 6pm by the time everyone returned home. The wolves and vampires were getting along fiercely and the power of three decided to go home and to get some sleep. Constant and Matt had come along for the ride and both had continually thanked them for everything they had done to not only shelter them but to integrate the two species.

Now back in the living room, everyone was sitting around with cocoa preparing for bed.

"So Selena," Karlia asked smiling. "What exactly happened in that premonition of yours?"

"You had a premonition?" Leo asked freaking out. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because Leo," Selena smiled. "It wasn't anything bad at all, no demons, no fighting."

"Then what did happen?" Leo enquired slightly confused.

"Well…" Selena smiled as she recalled that perfect moment. "Karlia kissed Constant and then you two kissed. It was a very happily ever after moment."

Karlia couldn't wait any longer as she pulled Constant towards him kissing him passionately.

Everyone smiled and Matt even wolf-whistled.

"Ok," Karlia said when they'd finished, turning to Philippe. "Your turn."

Philippe looked at Leo who smiled longingly at the man he loved and moments later they too shared a very passionate kiss.

"Yeah!" Karlia yelled out as Matt wolf-whistled again, while Selena and Constant smiled.

"I suppose all's well that ends well," Selena smiled happy with how everything had turned out.

"I agree," Karlia replied "And in the spirit of taking your Gram's advice Philippe, I'm going to spend the night with Constant at Bloodworth's."

"Tell the truth Karlia," Philippe replied smiling cheekily. "You just want to break in that TV."

Everyone else laughed.

"Well, I did finally find the remote," she answered smiling back.

As the pair rose, Philippe followed them to walk them out.

"Thanks again Philippe," Constant said for what seemed the millionth time. "You'll never know how much this means to us."

"Oh I think I have some idea," Philippe smiled hugging the man. "Let me know what happens with Chessie. I can't wait to hear how your mom rules on that one."

"Will do," Constant smiled back, before taking Karlia's hand and walking out the door.

"Be safe you two!" Philippe called out, closing the door behind them.

Not being able to keep the smile off his face Philippe walked back into the living room.

"So what are you two going to do?" Philippe asked.

"I'd like to stay the night if it's not too much of an imposition," Matt replied. "Keep this one safe."

"Out of trouble you mean," Selena smiled nudging him softly.

"That too," Matt smiled back, quickly kissing his girlfriend.

Leo made his way over to his boyfriend as Philippe glowed seeing just how happy his two friends were.

"No problem Matt," Philippe replied. "Anyone that makes Selena _that_ happy is welcome to stay anytime. But after 36 hours of being awake I'm…."

Philippe yawned not being able to control it.

"Off to bed," he finished.

"I'll come too," Leo smiled suggestively.

"Ok Mr.," Philippe smiled. "But we're going to sleep, I'm exhausted."

Leo looked forlorn but Philippe smiled up at him.

"Don't pout," Philippe replied "I never said what possibilities the morning brings."

Leo's smile reappeared as Selena raised an eyebrow at the pair.

Looking longingly into his boyfriend's eyes, Leo took him into his arms and orbed them up to Philippe's bedroom.

 **THE END.  
**


	12. Author's Note

Note from the Author:

 _To all of my magical readers,_

 _I'd like to start this note by thanking each and every one of you who took the time out to read this 3_ _rd_ _installment in the Power of Three series._

 _It has been a fantastic journey back and considering how I lost 5 of the books I had already written (books 3-7) I can only think about how close I came to not having the motivation to write anymore. It's easy to underestimate how hard it is to write a series and put all of your heart and soul into it, working day and night, only to have it ripped away from you never to be seen again. I am still saddened by the loss of that website and while I will not name the company here I can with conviction say I will never use them again and that I am deeply disappointed. If only they could have given me some warning so that I could have copied the books and saved them somewhere. Yes I know I should have backed them up, but back then I didn't even have a thought to do that and just assumed the site would always be there._

 _In saying that coming back with A lover's day/night has been nothing short of a thrill for me. To delve back into the insane magical world of Philippe, Selena and Karlia was such a pleasure and filled me back up with the hope that I will stick to my promise and release 10 books by the time the series ends._

 _ **So where to from here?**_

 _While I can say with absolute assurity that a 4_ _th_ _book is coming I cannot at this point say when._

 _ **Does this mean you will stop writing?**_

 _Not at all! At the moment I am writing 2 (completely different) series. Now that I have finished the 3_ _rd_ _for this one I will be going back to that one – Series entitled: Fighting for no Reward._

 _ **What can I do in the interim?**_

 _Well I would suggest reading the other series if you haven't yet. It is a good read and the sequel did quite well. You will need to read both Fighting for no Reward (book 1) & Cold in the Rain (book 2) for book 3 to make sense._

 _ **Fan questions.**_

 _ **I am a fan of both series, when will the first chapter for the new FFNR series become available?**_

 _Thank you! The first chapter is due out June 13 2016._

 _ **What was your favourite part to write for A lover's day/night?**_

 _A good question, I loved every chapter and I can say that honestly, they were all a lot of fun to write. But if I had to choose a favourite, I'd have to go with Leo and Philippe's conversation that (in my mind) finally got them together (when they were locked up)._

 _ **Did you expect to have a big following in Australia?**_

 _Honestly no. Is that surprising? I honestly thought I would get a bigger following from the US then Australia especially since charmed seemed to be bigger there. In saying that I am from Australia so I shouldn't be so surprised. Thanks guys!_

 _ **Which country that follows you surprises you the most?**_

 _Oh gosh! So many have surprised me. For A Lover's day/night my biggest shock was seeing a viewing all the way from Guam in Micronesia. That really surprised me. But really a lot of places have surprised me with my books it's been a real blessing._

 _ **Be honest, what are the similarities between you and Philippe?**_

 _Oh good question! Let's see…well, Philippe is very determined, passionate about the magic/spiritual world, loyal and stubborn when necessary (lol) and of course gay too, all of these things we have in common. As much as I wish I was with a white lighter, sorry to disappoint but I am not. Lol._

 _ **What is your writing schedule?**_

 _Honestly it varies. Sometimes I write for days and days only pausing for food and sleep. Other times I'll work a solid hour on a solid hour off, and other times I'll write one day and take the following day off. It all comes down to what else is happening at the time. But I do always want to stick to my schedule of uploading on Monday nights, so I am disciplined to get at least a chapter done a week._

 _ **Will Allyria, Constant and Matt remain in the series?**_

 _That is a very good question! I have being tossing up with what to do there, but I left everything the way I did so that the opportunity would be there. Up until now the Power of Three didn't have any allies aside from Leo and the elders (with their warped point of view, lol). So it's good that they have them. We'll see, do you want them to remain?_

 _ **Do you model the girls off anyone?**_

 _Yes actually, though no one famous! No 8 years ago when I began writing the series I based Philippe's 2 best friends on my two besties at the time. Leo is based on Leo with some minor differences and Allyria is based on a darker version of Julie Andrews._

 _ **A lot of the book was spent discussing being neutral. Do you think you'd be a good witch, a bad witch or a neutral one?**_

 _I think it's tough to answer. I mean good and evil are inside of everyone and like the avatars said "Duality is self perpetuating." But for me, like Philippe, I have no issues with Vampires or Wolves so I would probably be neutral also._

 _ **Charmed only went 'neutral' once with the Avatars, why do you think that is?**_

 _Charmed was very much focused on black and white – good and evil. Which don't get me wrong, I loved that. But to remain charmed they had to fight evil which kept them good. Even Leo went right off at Phoebe when she was a demon queen telling her that she "can't have it both ways." What I love about the Power of Three is that they can and this chapter definitely explored that._

 _ **What were you like at 22?**_

 _Oh goodness don't go there! Lol! I was a mess at 22. I actually believed *I* would be Charmed when I turned 22 and was bitterly disappointed when it never happened so it was a tough year for me lol. But you know it's all about growing up. I'm 30 now and I only just feel like I've learned enough to consider myself grown. Life takes a while and we need to enjoy each moment for what it is._

 _ **The Power of Three and Cold in the Rain are so different, what is it about both series that keeps you so motivated?**_

 _Thank you for that question. Yeah they are very very different. POT is magical and spiritual and so therefore there are endless possibilities. Someone dying doesn't mean they're dead, people can transport from one place to another in the blink of an eye, if Philippe gets impatient he can just freeze people, but also it's a family-style book in that as adventurous as it is, it will never go past a certain point (like with charmed)._

 _CITR meanwhile is of course the opposite – being non magical there is no 'fix it' other than to 'face it' situation. Also as it has such a high rating the boundaries are stretched including foul language and certain graphic moments. And unlike POT, CITR is mystery based and the characters need to live that mystery and can't just do a spell and work it all out in 10 chapters._

 _Thanks for the question._

 _Again thank you to everyone who read the 3_ _rd_ _installment of the series. So far alone there have been visitors from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Guam, Germany, India, Ukraine and many more and it just continues to bowl me over every time I see more countries being added to the list. You guys rock!_

 _Again I would like to thank the wonderful fanfic website, without which this dream of writing books and having them read would not be possible, thank you again so much!_

 _To wiccancharmedguy who keeps me going with the series. Thank you for your confidence in me I will keep writing I promise._

 _To my mother Lian, for those hours spent over the phone listening to the chapters and giving me direct feedback. You're my number 1 fan and I love you for it._

 _And of course again to all my wonderful readers which I never can ever thank fully enough. You guys are the mould that keeps me going, without you all I would be lost._

 _Until next time when we meet again for the next POT installment,_

 _Farewell,_

 _Francois.T. xoxo._


	13. 2017 Update!

27/2/2017.

Hey Guys!

Hope you're all doing well, I have missed each and every one of you so big hugs to you all wherever you are.

After a month sabbatical I am finally ready for my next update. The sabbatical was necessary as my last book took quite a bit out of me(as anyone who read Love Hurts can attest to).

The good news is it's time for the upload of a new story! Yay!

So naturally it's time to bring back our fave characters Philippe, Selena and Karlia and their white-lighter Leo, as well as Matt, Constant and all the others.

I even have a date for all of you which is even more exciting. And more exciting than that it's not going to be a long wait either!

The new Power of Three will be out: _Monday the 6_ _th_ _of March (Aest)._

A fair warning, this next book in the series is darker than what we've experienced in the past and I can also reveal that there will be some forward flashes. And for those who have been asking me I can now add that 4 people we all know and love and wondered when they would actually 'drop by' will finally do that.

The title of Book 4 is _The Power of Three: Trinezia!_

So I look forward to your company as we travel onwards with the new Power of Three.

Till Monday my friends, love and light

FrancoisT.


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